In Christ Jesus, the crucified and risen Lord, God has made known to His people in the New Testament, the mystery of His will and his great plan for the creation, for the fullness of the times, to gather up and bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ the Lord.
In this book, the author explains 12 mysteries that tell us the story of God’s plan for the ages, from the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God to the mystery of the Third Heaven, that will be in the New Heaven and the New Earth.
“Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, But to Your name give glory”. (Psalm 115:1)
“I declare the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose”
(Isaiah 46:10)
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction to the 12 Mysteries of Christianity
1. The Mystery of the Kingdom of God
2. The Mystery of Godliness – God came in the Flesh
3. The Mystery of the Trinity- the One Triune God
4. The Mystery of God’s Will
5. The Mystery of Israel’s Partial Hardening
6. The Mystery union of Christ and the Church
7. The Mystery the Seven Stars
8. The Mystery of the Seven Golden Lampstands
9. The Mystery of the Woman Sitting on the Beast
10. The Mystery of Evil and Suffering
11. The Mystery of the Glorified Body of the Believers
12. The Mystery of the Third Heaven
Preface
There essentially two main themes in the Bible: what has gone wrong with our world and how it can be put right. The first book in the Bible, the book of Genesis tells us exactly the root of the problem, and how God promised to put it right by rescuing humanity from sinful nature; the rest of the Bible shows the details.
To all members and adherents of Whittlesea and Mernda Presbyterian Church, and to my wife Beta, and to my two sons Maikel and Samuel, I wrote this book.
May God be praised and His name highly exalted for all good things that come from Him.
Soli Deo Gloria- To God Be the Glory
Botros Botrosdief
Christmas 2025
Introduction
When we see life’s tragedies, we wonder “Why?” We ask how evil can coexist with an all knowing, all powerful, all loving God. Is He the source of evil? If not, where did sin and evil come from, and perhaps the most distressing question: why doesn’t He stop it?
Those questions raise the topic of God’s plan, His providence, and his ongoing relationship to creation. This universe, and all within it, including us, follow God’s blueprint. We are not left to the fate of impersonal forces. God remains concerned and active in human affairs. All the events in our lives are opportunities for us to trust Him. Much mystery remains, but we trust that in His love, wisdom and power, and his great plan for the ages, He will do what is right.
The Lord God said in Isaiah 46:10, “I declare the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose”. So, what is God’s plan for the ages? Has God revealed his purpose? Is it given to us to know? Is it different for different people, or are all people part of the one plan?
The New Testament mentions the word “mystery” 27 times. It describes God’s great plans and purposes for the ages, revealed to us in Christ and by His Spirit through His prophets and apostles. In the prophecy of Amos 3:7-8 we read, “God does nothing in the earth unless He reveals His secrets to His servants the prophets”.
The purpose of God’s plan for the ages had been hidden for many generations before Christ, but now it is revealed in Christ. It is found through faith in Christ, the crucified Risen Lord, to bring and save the Jews and Gentiles and to be in Christ Jesus as one body, His Church. God has made known to us the mystery of his will, which He purposed in Christ, for the administration of the fullness of the times – when the times reach their fulfillment – to gather up – and bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ” (Ephesians 1:9-10). In this book, we will look at 12 mysteries that are revealed to us in the New Testament.
The Mystery of The Kingdom of God
There are 12 kingdom parables that our Lord Jesus told, speaking of the mystery of the Kingdom of God, as He said to his disciples, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God” (Mark 4:11). Each of these parables begins with the words, “The kingdom of heaven is like”. It explains seven things of what the kingdom of God in the world looks like in the world, and how this kingdom is marching on to its fulfillment in the new heaven and new earth.
First, He describes how the beginning of the Kingdom of God started small like a Mustard seed, but it would grow and become big tree and his kingdom will end with “great numbers of the redeemed from all nations that no one could count it”. Second, He explains the progress of God’s kingdom until the end of time, like a seed grows by itself, and like a little amount of yeast, slowly and gradually makes the whole dough rise. Third, He explains the opposition against it like the weeds that harass the wheat from all sides, and like thorns cause the plant not to grow. Four, the Lord explains the great value of his kingdom, and joy that fills our hearts when we take the wise decision to follow Him; like the man who found the treasure in a field and went and sold all he had and bought that field to get the Priceless Treasure. And likewise, the merchant who found the pearl of great value and sold all his possessions in order to have it.
In Five, He explains what His citizens must do to let it grow and to serve him in the parable of Talents. In Six, He explains how its citizens should be ready for His coming in the parable of 10 Bridesmaids.
In Seven, our Lord reveals how the Great outcome will come about with the separation of the bad fish- unbelievers- and the great joy of gathering the good fish- the believers.
Yes, then will be great sorrow in rejecting Him but great joy in the gathering of all believers who will enjoy the eternal Banquet of the kingdom of God as explained in the parable of the Wedding garment of the king’s son.
Here are the 12 parables that we are going to look some detail:
The Sower – Matthew 13:3-23
The Seed Growing of itself– Mark 4:26-29
The Weeds among the Wheat- Matt 13:24-30
The Mustard Seed – Matthew 13: 31-32
The Yeast or Leaven – Matthew 13:33
The Hidden Treasure – Matthew 13: 44
The Pearl of Great Price – Matthew 13: 45-46
The Net in the See- Matthew 13: 47-50
The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids – Matt 25
The parable of the Talents – Matthew 25
The parable of the Wedding Garment – Matt22
The parable of the Great Banquet – Luke 14.
The Parable of the Sower
During the Lord’s’ ministry, His disciples were going through a time of difficulty and disappointment. They believed that He was the Messiah, yet they saw him rejected, persecuted, regarded as an enemy and blasphemer by their own religious leaders and even his own family look at him as deranged. The Jewish leaders accused Him of blasphemy for claiming to be the Son of God and claiming he had authority to forgive sin. They accused him of sorcery and performing miracles by the power of Satan. They said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons, he is driving out demons” They finally accused him before Pilate, “If he were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you. We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, claiming to be Christ, a King” ((Mark 3:22; John 18:30 & Luke 23:2).
Very few people had any faith in him, his own countrymen in Nazareth drove Him away, and even his own family, accused him of madness; “Jesus’ mother and brothers went to lay hold of Him for they said, “He is out of his mind” (Mark 3:21; 31-32). His disciples may have asked the question, “Is Jesus’ proclamation that the Kingdom of God at hand really going to be successful?” We may wonder too if the Church of Christ will stand and succeed in its mission to the world with so many trying to discredit it and remove God from their lives by any means.
For this reason, the Lord gave them, “the parable of the Sower or the Farmer and his seeds” to encourage us in knowing that although some reject Him, others will accept Him. His work will succeed on earth in the end. His Church will stand victorious, preaching the Good News of His salvation and bringing many people to His Kingdom.
As the farmer looked at the harvest, he saw his work in some parts of his field had been wasted, by his natural enemies; birds that eat the seeds, rocks that killed it and thorns that shocked some plants. Yet his work in the end succeeded, his field producing a crop, “Some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred timeswhat was sown”. In the same way, in spite of the many efforts to bring people to God’s kingdom with the planting of the seed of God’s Word seems fruitless with some rejecting Jesus as Lord and Saviour, yet, others accept Him, and the success of God’s work through his church in the end is certain.
Isaiah 55:10-11 states, “As the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the Sower and bread for the eater, so is my Word that goes out from my mouth. It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it”
We should not be downhearted or discouraged, when we see the preaching of God’s message of salvation and our efforts did not bring as many people as we hope for, God is always working to bring to His kingdom those who would listen, and be saved. That is why the Lord said, “He that has ears to hear, let him hear” (Mark 4:9). Our Lord also said in John 10:16, “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd”.
We are given encouragement with this parable of the Sower, where there will be a harvest at the end with figures 30, 60 and 100 showing, success in one part of the field is seen success although other parts fail. It is God who declared the end from the beginning and John saw the end and said in Revelation 7:9-17, “I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb”.
We rest assured that God’s perfect plan will be successful “A great multitude that no one could count”. But, let us be aware of Satan’s two tactics, first; tempting us to fail (Luke 22:31), and Satan also is doing his best to discourage us and keep believers ignorant of God’s Great Plan for the world as God says, “My people perish–and exiled to Assyria and Babylon- for the lake of knowledge”(Hosea 4:6).That is why apostle Paul reminded the suffering believers of God’s plan and his work in the world, and said to them, “See Jesus, crowned with glory and honour because He suffered death, for everyone and to bring many sons and daughters to glory”(Heb 2:9-10). Let us look beyond what we see in the world today, and keep this vision of the End in our minds, looking always at God’s great harvest. Let us keep praying for parts of God’s field in the world that seemed to be wasted, “For not all have faith, but those who God appointed for eternal life will believe”.
The Parable of the Seed Growing of itself
Our blessed Lord Jesus said in Mark 4:11; 26-29, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. When the grain is ready, he cuts it by the sickle, because this is the harvest time”.
He said that parable to show us that we should not worry although His church or his kingdom grows in number in the world. Seeds grow of themselves; farmers do not push them up. The earth produces grain and reaches harvest without the farmer’s help. When the Lord Jesus declared “the kingdom of God is at hand”, many people including His disciples were impatient to see this happen. They wanted Him to act quickly, declare himself king and use violence to implement the kingdom of God on earth. Over 5000 men plus women and children followed the Lord Jesus because they saw the signs and the miracles He did, in healing many people of different kinds of diseases. When the Lord saw them, He had compassion on them and said to his disciple Philip, “How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”
He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip said, “It would take more than half a year’s wages- 200 denarii- to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” His disciples, Andrew said, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”
Then the Lord said, “Make the people sit down, and He took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.”
So, they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of loaves left over by those who had eaten. After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet, the Messiah who is to come into the world.” Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
For these reasons Lord Jesus told them the parables of the kingdom including “the Seed Growing of itself” to let them understand what really the kingdom of God looks like. When farmers sow their seeds in the field, water it and keep the ground free of weeds, then there is very little they can do to make the seed grow. Farmers watch the field, and see the seed sprouts and grows. First comes a stalk and leaves, then the head with the full grain in the head. They do not understand how it happens. Seeds grow of themselves: farmers do not push them up. The earth produces grain and reaches harvest without the farmer’s help. We are often impatient because we do not know how God can ever overcome all evil. We wonder why God does not act quickly and make His kingdom come, bringing many to his kingdom. Our blessed Lord made it clear to the Jews that the kingdom of God is not like any earthly kingdom, with a king’s throne and armies delivering the Jews from the Romans’ occupation.
By many parables He shows that the kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom which began by his first coming, like the sowing the seed, and will completely arrive at the harvest time at the end of time with His Second Coming. He said also, that anyone can see and enter it by faith in Him as the Christ, the Promised Saviour. The one who receives Him, will have a spring from their heart of Living water, that is eternal life, as He told the Samaritan woman and Nicodemus, the teacher of the Jews. That spiritual kingdom is God’s work by His Spirit in the hearts of people to deliver them from the power of Satan, sin, and the second death. In John 3:14-21, He said to Nicodemus, “No one can see and enter the kingdom of God unless they are born again… You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So, it is with everyone born of the Spirit… Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him…For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”.
In John 4: 14, He said to the Samaritan woman, “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life”. And in John 7:37-38, He said to all people, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them”. God is saying to every impatient believer, I AM, at work in the world just as I Am at work in the ground when seeds are sown. He said in John 10:16, “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd”. God is saying to us in this parable, “Do not be anxious. Trust in my great plan for the world. Keep planting the seed and leave the result to Me”. The Gospel of the kingdom, the Good News of Salvation is sown in the world, proclaimed by the Word of God like the seed sown in the field, and it will bring the harvest at the end. Because we trust that God is in control of present events as well as the future too, we must learn how to overcome our impatience, and keep planting the seed of the Word of God and leave the result to God. So, we have a choice to make: Trust God or to keep worrying. If we choose to worry, be impatient, and try to push the seed to grow, we will become more frustrated and disappointed because our Lord said. “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matt 6:27; 34). When we choose to trust God, believing that He will act according to His promises, even when things are difficult or uncertain, then we will have great peace as Paul said, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus… Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philip 1:6). So, let us do as Paul did, “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor” (1 Cor 3:5-9). Let us then rest assured on the Mystery of God’s perfect plan for the all ages, revealed to us in His Word: the end of His work in the world will be great, as He promised “Bringing many to glory”. It is God who revealed the end from the beginning and apostle John saw the end and said, “I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9-17). Let us then keep praying for parts of God’s field in the world that seem to be difficult to receive the Gospel of Christ. Let us keep planting the seed of the Word of God and continue to share the good news of salvation to others, leaving the result to God. The success of God’s Work at the end is certain, He will bring to the Glory “A great multitude that no one could count”.
The Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat
Our Lord Jesus said in Matthew 13: 24-30, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. His servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ An enemy did this, he replied. His servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time, I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn’”.
When our Lord Jesus said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”, His disciples like the Jews who believed in Him as the Messiah, expected to have, prosperity, health, wealth, and no troubles in life, and they would be the best people on earth. Because of this misunderstanding our Lord Jesus told them this parable of the Weeds among the Wheat. He explained to them, that the enemy of their souls will cause them troubles like what the weeds do to the wheat, but the plan of the enemy will fail and the end for God’s people is great. Nothing will harm their souls. Here what the Lord said, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
Thanks be to our Lord; as has He already unveiled the Mystery of His great plan for the ages. The wheat in this parable represents all believers who acknowledge Jesus as their Messiah, the Saviour, who enter God’s spiritual Kingdom by faith, having conflict and troubles by the Weeds. Believers experience a time of tribulations, trials and temptations by the devil, the enemy of their souls. But because they are in Christ, they also enjoy a time of growth that leads toward God’s Great harvest –Great numbers no one could count- at the end of time at the Second Coming of Jesus.
Our Lord wants us to see what He is doing in the world, what His Kingdom looks like, what the devil is doing, how he opposes God’s kingdom and how Satan troubles the believers like what the weeds do to the wheat. God tells us what we should do until the coming of the Lord. Our Lord Jesus describes Himself in that Parable as the Son of man who sows the seed. This means that our God is patient with the world. He waits until the message of His gospel reaches every corner in the world and people have the opportunity to hear the Gospel of salvation. God says, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live” Ezekiel 33:11. It also says in 1 Tim 2:4, “God wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”. In 2 Peter 3:9 is states, “God is patient He does not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” So, what does the Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat teach us about God’s kingdom in the world?
God’s spiritual kingdom on earth is mixed with two types of people. The wheat, the sons of the kingdom, are the good seed that Lord Jesus planted in the world, His field, to shine in the darkness of the weeds. The enemy of God’s kingdom does his best to oppose Christ’s work in the world and to stops the light of the Gospel, by placing his followers, the bad seed among the wheat to harass them and with various temptations to have them fail. The Lord said to Peter in Luke 22:31-34, “Simon Peter, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers”. Later in His life, Apostle Peter said to the believers, “Be alert, your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (1 Peter 5:8-9).
The conflict between good and evil, between God and Satan will continue to the end of the age. And in this conflict, Satan loses the battle, because our Lord Jesus said, “I will build my Church and the gates of hell will never overcome it”. So, what does the Parable teach us what must we do with the weeds?
When the servants came to the farmer and said, ‘Sir, ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time, I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn’” Matt 13: 24-30. As God’s children, light and salt in the world, we shouldn’t be quick to judge the weed and try to root them out. Rather, we keep telling them of God’s love and encourage them to be wheat, because the door of God’s salvation still open for them. In farming, weeds can never produce grain. But when it comes to the gospel of the kingdom of God, yes, the unbelievers can be changed by the Power of the Spirit of God and His Living Word.
Our conflict is not with people who are against God’s kingdom and his righteousness, but with Satan who deceived them as the Bible said in Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual rulers, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the unseen realms”. Praise be to our Loving God, His Door of Salvation still open to all men, when they come to Jesus the Way, the Truth and the Life accepting Him as Lord and Saviour.
This door however will not be open forever. The judgment day will come, and the weeds will be removed, as the owner of the field told his servants not to pull up the weeds, but to leave them until the time of the harvest.
Therefore, every one of us should ask, “Am I a weed or wheat?” If we are still a weed, let us turn to the Lord and be wheat. Second, because you are wheat, a believer in Christ, our Lord Jesus never instructed us to be impatient with those who refuse to accept Him as the Lord and Saviour. Let us not be too hasty; be patient with the weeds, as the farmer said to his servants, wait until the harvest time. Thirdly, remember Satan is your enemy, not the weeds. Be light and salt to them. Show them love and watch and live a godly life. Pray and intercede for them. Your good deeds count. Finally, let us once more hear what the Lord said as He explained to his disciples what the end, the time of harvest would look like, “This is how it will be at the end of the age; The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear” (Matt 13:40-50). What a great Day, when our Lord returns! His spiritual Kingdom that we are now living will be a reality in the New Heaven and the New earth. And there will be “what no eye has seen what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived the things God has prepared for those who love him”. Yes, our Loving God will wipe every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things will pass away.’ He who is seated on the throne says, ‘I am making everything new!’ Amen.
The Parable of The Mustard Seed
Our blessed Lord Jesus said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a big tree, so that the birds come and nest in its branches” (Matt. 13: 31-32 & Mark 4:30-32).
The Jews of Jesus day used to describe any smallest thing, as “It is small as a mustard seed”. But when that tiny seed planted, it grows to be a big tree. Here in this Parable, we see three things: the beginning of the kingdom of God, its progress and its great outcome, as the Lord said, “Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a big tree, so that the birds of the air can nest in its branches- its shade”.
Luke 13 gives us the occasion of the parable of the Mustard seed. On a Sabbath Day, Lord Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, and saw a woman was there who had been bent over and could not straighten up at all, for eighteen years. The Lord said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. But the synagogue leader became furious as Jesus healed the woman on the Sabbath, and said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” But the Lord said to him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a big tree, and the birds of the sky nested in its branches” (Luke 13:10-19).
During the Lord’s ministry on earth, many Jewish religious leaders were against Him and they made plans to kill him. Disappointment, despair, and fear filled the heart of His disciples, and one asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” The Lord replied, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom”. And the Lord explained that, although, His Kingdom started small like a mustard seed, it would be very great in the end (Luke 12:32 & 13:23). To the disciples and to those who walk by sight; small beginning, mush disappointment. To the Lord and to those who walk by faith, small beginnings lead to large endings.
The point of this parable is this: Do not be discouraged. God does not despise the small things. Little is much, if God is in it. Our Lord portrayed the extensive growth of the kingdom of God in that parable, and wanted His disciples and those who follow him to trust and believe what He said, “Although His Kingdom started small but it would be great at the end”. The Lord started with 12 disciples, later there were 70. After His Resurrection, 120. and at the Day of Pentecost, the number increased to 3000. And throughout the book of Acts, that number steadily increased “and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved”. And so on, through the history, many believers from every nation come in and it will end with a great number of the Redeemed that no one could count shall worship Him before His throne.
We all get discouraged with small things. Sometimes, we work so hard, and the outcome appears so small and does not meet our high expectations. Hence, we became discouraged. We all in same boat as the disciples of the Lord Jesus. They were discouraged and felt that way about the size of the Kingdom of God. To feed more than 5000 people, His disciple Philip said to Him, “Lord, it would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”. His disciples, Andrew said, “Lord, here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”
Too often, like Jesus’ disciples, we are tempted to give up, when we see the tiny, struggling beginnings and think that is all there will be. But Lord Jesus is saying in this parable “Do not be discouraged with small things”.
20 years of work to rebuild the Temple, after their return from exile in Babylon, God’s people were discouraged and underwhelmed at the outcome of the new temple. They compared it with the glorious Temple of Solomon that was destroyed by the Babylonians. Their dreams of the kingdom, restored to its former glory, died in small insignificant temple. So, the Lord God said to them in Zechariah 4:6-10, “It is not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says Yahweh the Lord of hosts… Do not despise the day of small things… For –Christ- who is desired by all nations will come. And the glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place, I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty”. It is fulfilled in Christ, the desire of all nations who look to Him to be saved.
“Do not despise the day of small things “, is a call to appreciate the significance of the insignificant tasks or small beginnings. God often works through what seem small steps, and it is important to trust His process and recognize that these small steps contribute to larger, significant outcomes. The Lord delights to use small things to accomplish His purpose. Moses’ rod, used when he was tending sheep, later used at the command of the Lord accomplished the salvation of Israel from Egypt, and the provision of water in the wilderness (Ex, 4; 14,17)
Gideon’s force of three hundred men defeated a huge army of 135,000 Midianites (Judge 7:19-8:10) Small stone shot from David’s sling in the name of the LORD, defeated Goliath, the giant, and caused the army of the Philistines to flee (1 Sam 17). A “jar of Little olive oil in God’s Hand” was the source to pay the debts of a widow and the remaining oil was for her and her two sons to live on. A “Little hand of flour and a little olive oil in jar, in God’s Hand” was the source to feed Elijah and a woman with her son during the famine that lasted for three years and half. Because God said, “The jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah” (2 Kings 4:1-7). One boy’s lunch, in the hands of Lord Jesus, fed more than 5,000 people (Mark 6:32-44).
When God came to earth for our salvation, the Jews thought He would come with glory and might, but instead He came as a helpless baby. They might think He would come with honors and splendor, but instead He lay in a dirty manger. Who was there to witness the greatest event in human or angelic history? Mary, Joseph, some shepherds, and the farm animals. Amazing Grace. The One who spoke the world into being arrives, but there was not even a small room for him in the Inn. In a small manger, the Saviour of the world came. Then it was His Cross, the next greatest event in history, the one we will sing about for all of eternity, and it’s so easy to despise and not consider it. It is a day of small beginnings. The Cross is foolishness to those who think themselves wise (Greeks) and offence to those who think themselves righteous (Jews). But it is the cross that bring salvation to many, a grain of wheat that dies to bring great harvest
So, Jesus’ parable of the tiny Mustard Seed growing to a big tree is very encouraging. God does not despise any small thing you do, which is another way of saying that he asks nothing more than that, and he is quite pleased with it. He takes the small thing, assembles it with other small things, each adding their unique contribution, and His kingdom comes into view. The weaker we are, the greater glory of His grace made perfect in us. Do not despise small steps. Do not quit. Do not judge your small efforts. Look to everything you do from the lens of Heaven’s eye. The end is great. Amen.
The Parable of The Yeast in the Flour
Our blessed Lord Jesus said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough and made the entire dough rise”.
Luke 13:10-21 gives us the reason and the occasion of the parable of the Yeast; On a Sabbath Day, Lord Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, and saw a woman was there who had been crippled for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. The Lord said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. But the synagogue leader, furious as the woman was healed on a Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” He asked them, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a big tree, and the birds of the sky nested in its branches. The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough” (Luke 13:10-21).
We have seen in the Parable of the Mustard Seed that our Lord Jesus portrays and illustrates the extensive growth of the kingdom of God. It starts as small as mustard seed, but it grows to be like a big tree. So, his kingdom starts with 12 disciples but it will end with great multitudes of the Redeemed form all nations that no one can count it. In this parable of yeast in the dough, our Lord Jesus illustrates the intensive growth of the kingdom of God. Both parables of the Mustard Seed and of the Yeast, are really two side of the same coin. The Mustard seed portrays the extensive growth of and the Yeast describes intensive growth of the kingdom of heaven.
During the Lord’s ministry, many Jewish leaders were against Him and they planned to kill him. Disappointment, despair, and fear filled the heart of His disciples, and one asks him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” The Lord replies, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom”. Then the Lord explained to them that, although, His Kingdom starts small, like a mustard seed, it would be very great in the end like big tree. And like a small amount of yeast in a large amount of flour, it makes all the dough rise. Large endings from small beginnings. To the disciples and to those who walk by sight; small beginnings much disappointment. To the Lord and to those who walk by faith, small beginnings led to large endings.
God is telling His people, do not be discouraged. God does not despise the small things. Little will be much, if God is in it. Our Lord portrayed the extensive growth of His kingdom (His Church) in the parable of the Mustard seed, but in the parable of Yeast He portrays the intensive growth of His Kingdom and wanted His disciples and us as His followers to trust and believe His Word that says, “Although MY Kingdom started small it would be great at the end”.
As we watch and wonder, how many people will come to God’s glory, this is not a sudden, dramatic arrival, but rather a slow, gradual and steady process of transformation. It takes time but at the end it will transform this earth into a new earth and heaven of Heaven will come down to it. Like what the Yeast does in the flour. The yeast doesn’t work instantly; it takes time and effort for it to permeate the dough and produce a final loaf. Likewise, the kingdom of God, like yeast, has the power to transform the flour that represents people of this world transforming into new creations. People’s hearts and minds are changed, bringing about spiritual and moral growth. We should not be discouraged with small beginnings or small numbers of believers who seem to not grow as fast, as we expect. Noah was a preacher of righteousness, preaching for 120 years, but only he and seven people were saved in the ark. The Lord our God called us to be faithful stewards of the Gospel, not to focusing on specific numerical results. What matters to God, is our obedience in fulfilling His calling to us to be faithful. We plant the seed of the Gospel Message, and the number of people who respond to the Gospel is in God’s hands. So, we are like what the little yeast does in the flour. God places us here, even in small number, in the dough of the world as agents of change to save others. But, slowly, gradually and in many cases, no one knows about us but at the end we can transform, by God’s grace, people from the culture of death to the culture of eternal life. Each day we grow spiritually, even though we may not see the changes that are taking place. So, let us be patient with God’s work in our life. There are no overnight successes, but it will grow to that end that God declared from the beginning. It works like a little leaven that leavens the whole lump, in silence, not by force, gradually and not suddenly. God will bring us in perfect maturity to be Christlike. Our Spiritual growth and maturity in the knowledge of Christ is neither instantaneous nor automatic; it is a gradual, progressive development that will take time, and effort, just as physical growth does. It is the long journey of our life. Yes, it is not a one-time event but an ongoing process of transformation into the likeness of Christ, guided by the invisible Power of the Holy Spirit of God like what the yeast does in the dough. May the Lord God our great Redeemer equip us to serve Him, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
The Parable of The Hidden Treasure
Our blessed Lord Jesus said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of Heaven is like a Treasure Hidden in a Field. One day a man found the treasure, and then he hid it in the field again. He was so happy that he went and sold everything he owned to buy that field” (Matthew 13:44).
The story of this parable might be like this; there is a field for sale, rented to a farmer who while working hits a hard object and discovers a treasure box. He knows that this Hidden Treasure does not belong to the owner of the field as the owner would not have put it up for sale before removing the box. The land of Israel, was a very important location with many ancient empires invading and taking their treasures. The Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans had all occupied this land. People used to hide their treasure safe in a field and far from their homes which were plundered. That Hidden Treasure, belonged to someone from a previous generation who passed away without telling their relatives about it. In turn, they sold the field to the current owner who in turn wanted to sell it. The man who rented that field, and found it, knew the value of the hidden treasure; it was clearly greater than all he possessed. Hence, the man decided to sell everything he had to buy this field in order to have the treasure.
And here in this story of the Hidden Treasure, our Lord Jesus addresses some people who saw His miracles and heard His teaching about the great value of His kingdom and His call to follow Him. They had to decide if they would join Him or not. They were wondering; if was a wise decision to follow Jesus who claimed to be not only the Promise Messiah but God Himself? Or should they ignore and dismiss his call? They were like someone at a cross road, wondering which way to go. One of these people was a rich man and our Lord Jesus said to him, “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Mark 10:17-30). Our Lord Jesus was helping such people to make the wise decision to follow Him. He was saying, “If you decide to follow me, you will gain more than you will lose”. I will fill your heart with great joy, like the man who found the treasure in a field and went and sold all he had and bought that field to get the Priceless Treasure. And this is the point of the parable of the Hidden Treasure. The kingdom, that our Lord Jesus offers us, is worth the cost. God offers the treasure to people who perceive the value of His kingdom. Those who follow Christ, find the priceless treasure. The Bible says of Christ Jesus, “In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” “He is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with Him” (Colossians 2:3; Proverbs 3:15).
Our Lord Jesus made known the hidden things of the kingdom with this parable, however, for those who cannot see its value, the precious treasure remains hidden. But like the man who found the priceless treasure, those who do perceive the value of the kingdom of God will sacrifice anything to obtain it. Paul testified and said in Philippians 3:7-8, “Whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage that I may gain Christ and be found in him”. Our Lord God still calling, “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy without money. Why spend money on what does not satisfy? Listen to me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live” (Isaiah 55:1-3). God’s gentle voice still calling us today; “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (Matt 11:28 & John 6:35).
The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price
Our blessed Lord Jesus said in Matthew 13:45-46, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it”.
Pearls come from inside oysters, and are extremely rare. Only around 1 in 10 thousand oysters in nature produce one. Real pearls are worth an insane amount; millions of dollars, but an artificial one from $ 999 to 100000. According to Lord Jesus, when the merchant finds one pearl of enormous value, he recognizes its worth as more than everything else he owns. He therefore sells all to obtain this priceless pearl. The story of this parable might be like this; there was a merchant who spent his life buying pearls and selling them at a profit. One day he found one that was very especially valuable, but he could not pay the price. He went home and thought about this great pearl deciding to sell all his possessions in order to have it. And that is what he did.
Our Lord Jesus addressed some people who heard His teaching about the kingdom of Heaven, and its great value, and the cost to enter it and follow Him. They were wondering and had to decide if they would join Him or not. Was it wise decision to follow Him, or dismiss his call? They were like those persons at the crossroad, wondering which the right way to go? Jesus called the crowd to Him along with His disciples saying, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and for the gospel will save it. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for the sake of My name will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life” (Mark 8:34-35 & Matt 19:29).
One of these people, who heard Jesus’ call, was a young rich man, and he asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony… honor your father and mother.’” The man said to him, “Teacher,” “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Soon after Peter said to Jesus, “See, we have left all and followed You.” Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children along with persecutions and in the age to come eternal life”. This is what our Lord wants us to know, that “The kingdom of heaven is worth giving up everything that you have, to enter it”. Our Lord Jesus was helping all people, including us to make the wise decision and keep following Him. He is encouraging us saying: If you decide to follow me, you are wise. You will gain more than you will lose”. I will fill your heart with great joy, like the man who found the treasure in a field and went and sold all he had and bought that field to get the Priceless Treasure. And like the merchant who found the pearl of great value and sold all his possessions in order to have it.
A true Christian, a follower of Christ, is a wise person and is a spiritual merchant who seeks and finds this pearl of Great price; giving up everything that hinders them from entering the Great kingdom of heaven”. Those who perceive the value of the kingdom of God would sacrifice anything to find Christ, the Pearl of great value. Let us take up our cross whatever the cost and follow Him, continuing to serve Him and looking always to His coming again.
The Parable of the Net in the Sea
Our blessed Lord Jesus said in Matthew 13:47-50, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full; they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So, it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”
This Parable is telling us of three scenes; the net in the sea, the net at shore, and separation the good fish from the bad. The net in the sea represents preaching the Gospel of salvation in Christ, who came to save the lost from the troubled sea of the world. The sea in the Bible represents nations of the world, “The waters which you saw, are peoples, nations, and tongues” (Rev. 17:15).
Jesus, our Lord, called His disciples to be fishers of men. He said to them, “Follow me and I will make you a fisher of men” (Matt 4:19). The net had to be cast in the sea. The Gospel of Christ has to be preached to the whole world. As long as the net is in the sea, all nations, all people, have a chance to hear the Good News of salvation. But the net will not be in the sea forever; it will be drawn to shore. This is the second scene in the parable; the net at shore. Preaching the Gospel will not be forever, some day when Jesus comes, our work as light to the world is done. The door of Grace is closed. No more second chances. When the net is full; it will be drawn to the shore. When the full number of believers is complete, the redeemed and who are saved by God’s grace – from all nations (Jews and Gentiles)- the Lord will then come and all the people of the earth of all times since creation of the first man Adam, will stand before Him. He will then separate the righteous from the unrighteous, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
The Lord in His mercy and in His grace commanded his Church to go into the world and preach the gospel to the ends of the earth, to all nations. The Loving God, still knocking at the door of every heart, gives everyone on earth more opportunity to hear the Gospel Message of salvation saying, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mathew 11:28). But when the net is full, it will be drawn to the shore.
In the third scene, the separation of the good fish from the bad occurs. The righteous are separated from the evil at the end of time as the Lord said in Matthew13: 49-50, “So, it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”.
At His Coming, the greatest assembling and separation will occur as Matthew 25:31-46 & Mark 13:26-27 state, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, He will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left”. Then, the greatest verdict will be handed down; “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (Matt 25:41-46).
This is exactly what the apostle John saw in the Vision of the Great White Throne and the Book of Life, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:11-15) This is what our Lord Jesus said, “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out, those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned” (John 5:28-29).
The fishing net is a vivid description of the coming Day of the Lord, and how the believers in Christ will be at the place of honor and the unbelievers will be in utter darkness. The parable of the fishing net also serves as an encouragement for us to continue to cast the net in the sea, preaching the Gospel of salvation to all people who they may hear it and come to repentant while there is still opportunity. We praise God for His promise of bringing us into His glory and place us in honouring place at His right hand as the good sheep. And when He comes, we will enjoy with all the redeemed “What no eye has seen what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived the things God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor 2:9). Let always be ready and prepare ourselves for His coming by live godly life, be light and salt to the earth. Let us then continue to preach the Gospel whenever we have the opportunity to do so, watching and praying, “Amen Come Lord Jesus”.
The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids
The parable of the Ten Bridesmaids compares one aspect of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus to a Jewish Wedding. How to be ready. This parable is one of several illustrations, the Lord Jesus gave to answer His disciples’ questions of when and how His coming will be. In Matthew 24:3, the disciples asked Him, “Lord! Tell us, when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world?”
To make His point, the Lord told them about a wedding using the Ten Bridesmaids for an illustration. He said, “Keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour when your Lord is coming” (Matt. 25:13). So, let us see how a Jewish Wedding looks like in the first century. There were five basic things of a Jewish wedding at that time: First, the parents of the couple agreed on everything- the marriage day, establishment of a dowry, time, place…etc. Second, on the evening of the Wedding Day, the Groom with his best friends go to the bride’s house and takes her to his father’s house… Riding or walking according to situation and the place. Third, the ten bridesmaids, the friends of the bride, wait at the Groom’s Father House to welcome the Groom and his Bride lighting their lamps. Fourth, when the Groom comes with his bride, all the gusts will enter his father’s house to celebrate his Wedding enjoying a great banquet. Fifth, at His Father’s House, the Groom and his Bride would be treated as king and queen for 1 month before they go to live in their own house and establish their own family.
Now let us read the story of the wedding in the parable of the Ten Bridesmaids to see its message for us today. Our Lord said, “The kingdom of heaven will be like 10 bridesmaids who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. The foolish took their lamps, and took no extra oil with them. But the wise took extra oil in their vessels (jars) with their lamps. While the bridegroom delayed in coming, they all slept. At midnight there was a cry made “Behold, the bridegroom comes; go out to meet him”. They all got up and began working to light their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, give us some of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, “Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go to them that sell, and buy for yourselves”. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came. Those who were ready went in with him to the marriage celebration and the door was shut. Later after the celebration was over, the other five, say “Sir, Sir, open to us. But he said, verily I say to you, I know you not. You are late, go to your home, the celebration is already over. All the guests went to their home”.
The problem was – only five of the lamps actually worked! The shape of Jewish lamps, outside lips rounded inward, made it almost impossible for someone to pour oil from one lamp to another. Unless they have extra supplies in a little jar, they cannot share their oil.
Our Lord points out the unwise attitude of the foolish five bridesmaids who were not well prepared for that important occasion. They neglected the important part to honour the Groom and His bride- their lamps must light around them. They missed the marriage celebration. They couldn’t make it; they came after the banquet was over. That is why the Lord said, “Watch therefore, for you do not know the day nor the hour when the Son of man comes”.
The ten bridesmaids had to light their lamps watching and waiting for the groom and the bride. The five wise bridesmaids had plenty of oil with them so that no matter how long they might have to wait, they would be prepared to light the way when the groom comes. The other five were foolish because they lacked the oil necessary to do what they have to do in honouring the bride and the groom.
We must be ready for the coming of Christ which is symbolized in this story of the parable. “Our lamps are filled with oil”. In other words, we must make sure that we are true Christians. Born again, and the Holy Spirit of God in our hearts like the Five wise Bridesmaids who have oil in their lamps. This is what our Lord said to a very good religious leader; Nicodemus, “You must be born again to see and enter the Kingdom of God” that is believe in Lord Jesus as the Crucified Savior who takes away our sins.
Nicodemus, was a very godly Pharisee and ruler of the Jewish Sanhedrim, engaged in a significant conversation with Lord Jesus at night. He recognized Jesus as a teacher from God, due to His miracles. During their discussion, the Lord Jesus said to him, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:14-17). So, believing in Jesus as the Christ, the Saviour, is to be born again, and as a result of accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour, the Holy Spirit of God will dwell in the hearts of the believers, as the Bible says, “When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (Eph 1:13). This indwelling of the Holy Spirit transforms us as believers in Christ, guiding us, empowering us to live a life pleasing to God, shinning the light of Christ to the world and making us ready for the coming of the Lord. Our Lord said to His Church in the symbol of the 7 Lampstands, “You are the light of the world. Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt 5:13-16 & Rev 1).
Our Lord said to His Church in Matthew 5:13-16, “You are the light of the world. Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven”. Also, the apostle Paul said to the believers in the Church of Phillipi, “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a confused and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life” (Philippians 2:14-16). So, how can we fill our lamps with oil?
First, let us make sure that we are True Christians. Second, let keep watching and live a godly life, be salt to the earth and light to the world. Third, let us keep praying and interceding for others that they may be saved. And then, let us always share the Gospel of salvation whenever we have the opportunity to do so.
The parable of the Talents
The story of this parable in Matthew 25:14-30, is one of many stories about the Kingdom Parables, that tell us, how the kingdom of God looks like in the world, and how the mystery of God’s Eternal plan is marching on towards its final fulfilment, the new heaven and the new earth at the coming of our Lord Jesus, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. “The parable of the Talents” or “The Parable of the Three Business Men”, tell us a story of a noble man who went on a journey and entrusted his three servants with 8 talents, each one according to his ability. A Talent was a great sum of money. In the first century in Jesus’ day, A talent equaled about US $500,000 in today’s money. He gave the first businessman 5 talents that equals $2,500,000 to invest, the second, 2 talents that equals $1,000,000 to invest, and he gave the third businessman1 talent that equals $500,000 to invest.
When he came back and heard the report of the first two men that they had doubled his money, he was very pleased and said to each one, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:23). The third man who was entrusted with one talent said to him “Sir, I knew you to be a hard man, harvesting where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I hid your talent in the ground. In a safe place- Here is your money”. The man said to him, “You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I harvest where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So, you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. You are no longer work for me. Out to the outer darkness, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. You will not share my happiness” (Matt 25:24-30).
One week before His Crucifixion, our Lord told His disciples five parables related to His Second coming. These parables were given to encourage them to be ready to use their gifts until He comes. One of these parables is the parable of Talents. After His Resurrection and before His Ascension, the Lord entrusted them to preach the Gospel- the Good News of salvation to all nations and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt 28:18-20).
The Parable of Talents teaches us to be faithful to use our different gifts as God gives us opportunities to serve Him. Our Lord uses this parable to help us understand our calling as Christians and our responsibility to use what God has given us to bring Him glory and honour! The Talents represent opportunities to take it according to our abilities. These are opportunities to serve God in His local Church and also to share the Good News of salvation in Christ to people outside the Church. Some of us are given opportunity, according to our ability, to communicate the Gospel from door to door or at market places. Others are able to teach and preach, others to pray and others to give for the mission work. Some manage the church property; others defend the Gospel like what Apostle Paul did against the false teachers and the false doctrines. The Bible outlines various spiritual gifts given by God through His Holy Spirit to the Church as the Body of Christ to equip believers for service and ministry within the church and to the world.
These gifts, described in Romans 12:8-9, as Paul states, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with yor] faith;if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully”. In 1 Corinthians 12:8-11, he said, “To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines”. And in Ephesians 4:7-13, “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ”.
These opportunities are for all of us to serve that one end “share the good news of salvation in Christ with others through our words and actions”. It is a great privilege to serve the Lord but it also comes with a great responsibility as described here in this parable. The three business men in the parable fell into two categories: faithful and unfaithful. The first two were faithful and took the challenge and used every opportunity by putting their master’s money to work. They traded and gained profit. They received a great reward – Sharing in the master’s happiness. He said to them, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:23). To share the Lord’s own happiness is the joyful glorious crown that awaits us in the presence of the LORD, and in particular to those who are faithful in using their different gifts to bring the message of the salvation to others.
The third businessman was afraid and hid the one talent he was trusted with. He did nothing. He wasted his chances for investing. The master scolded him saying that he should have invested His talent- his money and received interest. He had very little regard for his master. (Jealousy of the other two blinded his sight) He saw his boss as a hard man who was demanding and unfair, and that blind evil thought created fear and crippled him to serve his master faithfully. The other two put their master’s money to work. Because of their faithfulness, they each received the same praise and commendations, and both shared their master’s happiness.
The Lord ends that parable by saying, “Therefore, watch, for you do not know the day nor the hour when the Son of man comes” (Matt 25:13). Watching and waiting doesn’t mean sitting! We are to be watching and working, because there is no such thing as standing still in Christian life. No one can claim that he or she “have no gift”. Every one of us has given opportunities to serve the Lord. Even if we have only “one talent”, we can use it according to our ability. We have to Do what we can. Because the Bible says, “Anyone, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins” (James 4:17).
Christ our great loving God, the Head of the Church who is the King of kings and the Lord of Lords wants us to share his happiness. He said in Revelation 22:12, “I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End”.
To share Christ’s happiness is our great reward. Let us then heed his voice “You’re the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world”. As the apostle Paul said, “Stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor 15:58 16:13).
The parable of the Wedding Garment
According to Matthew 22:1-14, the Parable of the Wedding of the King’s Son, is a story about a king who prepares a great wedding feast for his son. It describes the Kingdom of Heaven as God’s invitation to salvation, rejected by many Jews and ultimately extended to all nations.
During Jesus’ last week on earth, He experienced great opposition and hostility from the Jewish leaders. They plotted to kill him, and warned anyone who acknowledged him as the Messiah would be cast out of the Synagogue. So, the Lord Jesus gave them the parable of ‘the wedding of the King’s Son’ to warn them not to reject God’s Salvation which was offered to them.
So, let us now see the story of the parable its main point. There is a wedding for the king’s son, and the invitation has been sent. The feast begins as soon as the king makes sure that all the invited guests wear the wedding garment that have been provided for each invited guest. The king sent his servants to call the first group of the invited guests, but they were not willing to come and rejected the invitation! Again, he sent other servants, saying, “Come to the wedding.” They made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm and another to his business. The rest seized his servants, and killed them.
It’s hard to understand why some would reject the invitation to a royal wedding. People usually would be more than happy if they are invited to a wedding. For example, a couple who attended the royal weeding of Prince William and Princess Catherine, wrote to them, “We can’t thank you enough for giving us the honour to be part of your wedding. We’re so grateful to be there on your special day. It was more amazing. Thank you so much!”
In this Parable, the invited guests didn’t care that the one getting married was the King’s son! Not only did want not to come but they disrespected the King, mistreating and killing his servants. The king was furious and sent out his soldiers, destroying the murderers and burning up their city. They paid the price for that!
We may wonder, who are those invited guests who rejected the King’s invitation? The people of Israel, were invited first to receive God’s blessing through the coming of the Messiah, but many of them rejected it. The Bible says, “He came to His own, and his own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:11-12).
Many prophets of the Old Testament, Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zachariah, to the last one, John the Baptist, one after the other gave Israel the first invitation. The second invitation came with the Son of God Himself, the Lord Jesus, who came in the flesh. But again, the leaders and many who followed them rejected his call and crucified Him. In His mercy, God again gave them 40 years more, as the last opportunity, that might repent, through the preaching of the Apostles of Christ. Persistently, however, they rejected His call. Israel paid the price for rejection of God’s Son with judgment coming upon Israel on 70 AD. The city was burned and destroyed with many killed and the rest exiled. The Apostle Paul said to the Jews “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:46). Stephen said to the Jews; “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers”. They did not repent but stoned Stephen to death (Acts 7:51, 52).
God’s messengers throughout the history of Israel suffered a lot, in order to bring to them, the invitation of God, the King of the universe, to enjoy His blessing of the great banquet of the King’s Son, Jesus, the Son of God. Of these suffering servants of the King, the Bible said in Hebrews 11:37-38, “They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented- of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth”.
In the Parable, a second group is invited with the king saying to his servants, “The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding”. The servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good”.The tax collectors, the common people and the Gentiles, were considered by the Jewish religious leaders to be sinners, not worthy to be in the kingdom of God, but the Lord Jesus welcomed them, and for that reason the Pharisees hated Jesus and wanted to kill him.They said in Luke 7:34, “This Jesus is a glutton and drunkard, friend of tax collectors and sinners!”. They were angry and said to his disciples in Matthew 9:11, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
The King instructed his servants to give each guest a wedding garment designed for that special occasion. The hall was filled with those guests, wearing the wedding garments, except for one man he did not dress and accept the wedding garment that was given to him, but came with his own dress and wanted to enjoy the banquet.
When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So, he said to him, “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” He was speechless. The king said to the servants, “Bind his hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”. Here is something hard to understand! What was wrong with the man? Why he was cast out?
The man accepted the invitation, and came to the wedding party, but he rejected putting on the wedding garment that was designed and provided by the King himself. He preferred to come with his own clothes. He was speechless, he had no excuse because he knew the requirements of the wedding feast. He was cast out into outer darkness in the coldness of the night where there was; “weeping and gnashing of teeth”. That is why the Lord Jesus said, “For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matt 22:14).
We may wonder, what does the wedding garment in the story represent?
It represents the garment of righteousness of Christ that God provides to each one who believes in Jesus as the Son of God, Lord and saviour. The man represents anyone who wants to come to God by his own self-righteousness without accepting what God offered through His Son.
About this Great Wedding of the King’s Son, the apostle John states, “And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, saying, ‘Halleluiah! For the Lord God Almighty reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.’ And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright” (Rev 19:6-8).
Just as the king in the parable provided wedding garments for his guests, God provides the wedding garment of the righteousness of Christ to anyone who receives Him. Many people seek to attend Heaven’s Feast with their own garment of righteousness, rejecting what God provides for them. Like the man who wanted to enjoy the King’s feast, but would not accept being dressed with the wedding garment provided for him by the King. They want to obtain salvation by their own righteousness.
The apostle Pau prayed for the Jews who rejected Jesus as the Messiah, “My heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes… For if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:1-4; 9-13).
At the Coming of Christ, a big wedding is coming, for the Kings’ Son, our Lord Jesus. The invitation has been made and is still being given. Those who accept the wedding garment will enjoy the big feast of the Kingdom of God. The point is not just accepting the invitation of the Heaven’s feast, but to be dressed with the wedding garment of the righteousness of Christ. Then you and I, if we are in Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour, can sing with Isaiah and say, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul rejoices in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, and He has covered me with the robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10).
The Great Banquet of the Kingdom of God
The parable of the Great Banquet of the King’s Son and of the parable the Banquet of the Nobel man are two of 12 Kingdom Parables. These 12 parables tell us, how the kingdom of God looks like in the world, and how the mystery of God’s Eternal plan is marching on towards its final fulfillment, to the New Heaven and the New earth at the coming of our Lord Jesus, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. So, what is the Great Banquet in the Kingdom of God?
It is described first in Matthew 22:1-14, as the Wedding Feast for the King’s Son. It is God’s invitation to all people, given and rejected by the majority of unbelieving Jews, but received by the remnant of believing Jews and many people from all nations. Secondly, the Lord Jesus described in Luke 14: 15-24, that it was a great blessing to those who accepted God’s invitation and entered into His kingdom. Third, it described in Revelation 19:1-10, as the Great Wedding Supper of the Lamb. Here all the angels of God will rejoice and shout for joy saying, “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” It clear that this great banquet is for those who believed in Christ Jesus, the crucified Lamb of God, who took away their sins.
So, what was the occasion of that Great Banquet of the Kingdom of God?
During Jesus’ last week on earth, He experienced great opposition and hostility from the Jewish leaders. They plotted to kill him, so the Lord Jesus gave them the parable of ‘the wedding of the King’s Son’ to warn them not to reject the Salvation He offered to them. One of those who heard Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of God said to him, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” Then the Lord Jesus said, “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. The Lord ends his parable by warning those who refuse the invitation and the others who went too far by killing the king’s servant, then finally killing His Son too”’ (Matt 21:33-44; 22:1-14, Luke 14:15-17)
We may also ask, “How did God make known His invitation to that great banquet of His Kingdom to all people?
Many prophets of the Old Testament over the years gave Israel the first invitation; Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zachariah, to the last one, John the Baptist. The second and the last invitation came with the Son of God himself, the Lord Jesus who came in the flesh. He then commissioned His apostle and then His Church to invite all nations to come and enjoy His Salvation and the blessing of receiving Him as Lord and Saviour.
Who will not be there at the great banquet of the Kingdom of God?
According the Kingdom Parables, they are those who reject the King’s invitation, “Come to the wedding”. Those who neglected it intentionally, and went their own ways; one to his own farm, another to his business. And others seized the king’s servants, persecuted them and killed them.
Also, anyone who refused to accept the Wedding Garment- the garment of Salvation that God provides by the death of His Son Jesus on the Cross, that person cannot enter God’s heavenly kingdom on his own terms with his own self- righteousness. And according to the last book in the Bible, the book of Revelation, “Anyone whose name was not in the Lamb’s Book of Life” will not be there (Revelation 20:15)
The invited guests, who refused to come to the great banquet, made excuses that were horribly offensive and insulting. The first said, “I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me” (Luke 14:18). Their excuses are laughable bad. No one buys land without seeing it first. “Another said, “I have just bought five yokes of oxen, (10 oxen) and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me” (Luke 14:19). No one buys 10 oxen without seeing them first. Still another said, “I just got married, so I can’t come”. This is a feeble excuse. What, exactly, would keep a newly married couple from attending a great banquet?
UIn the Parable of the great banquet of the Wedding of the King’s Son, the invited guests, who refused to come to the great banquet for the King’s Son, made excuses for not coming, and went too far, insulting and killing the King’s servants.They seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.That is why the Lord Jesus warned and told those who intended to reject him, “the parable of the wicked tenants”, who seized the servants; beating one, killing another, and stoning a third. Then the Lord of the land sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So, they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him”.
The Lord Jesus said to them, “Not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’” I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit” (Matthew 21:43).
But thanks be to God, the door of God’s Love and the Day of His grace and mercy is still open for any one of these people who may change their mind and accept God’s invitation by believing in His Son Jesus and wearing the Garment of Salvation that God provides.
In the Kingdom Parables, the invitation is given to the tax collectors, the common sinners and the Gentile people, who were rejected and considered by the Jewish religious leaders as the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame, not worthy at all. Everyone is welcome to come to Wedding of the Great Supper of the Lamb. God wants all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth of His Salvation.
Who will be there at the great banquet of the Kingdom of God and enjoy it forever?
The apostle Paul said to the Christian believers in Jesus, in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” Revelation 7:14, described them “These are they who washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb”. They are those who sing praises to God saying, “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve God and Father, to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen” (Revelation 1:5)
The Great Banquet of the Marriage Supper of the lamb speaks of the eternal blessing for those who accept the invitation of this great feast. They dressed in the Wedding Garment; the garment of salvation. Their names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. The angel of the Lord said to John, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb! Then the apostle John said, “And I heard, the voice of a great multitude, saying, ‘Halleluiah! For the Lord God Almighty reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.’ And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright” (Revelation 19:6-8).
When the Lord Jesus returns at the end of time, as the bridegroom comes for His bride which represents all God’s people through the ages, it will be a time of excitement and glorious joy such as we’ve never known or experienced. As for now, we are waiting that great Day, so, let us make sure that we are in Christ, born again, believing that Jesus is our great Redeemer, our Saviour, and dressed with the wedding garment of His righteousness.
(2) The Mystery of Godliness
“Without controversy, (beyond all question- or by common confession), Great is the mystery of Godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory”
1 Timothy 3:16.
This statement is one of seven Christmas hymns that recorded in the New Testament. It was sung by the early Church. The first song: Elizabeth’ song in Luke 1:39-45. The second, Mary’s song in Luke 1: 46- 56. The third, Zechariah’s song in Luke 1:67-79, the fourth the Angels’ song in Luke 2:13-14, the fifth Simeon’s song in Luke 2:29-32, the six the Church’s song in Philippians 2:5-11, and the seventh the Church’s song in 1 Timothy 3:16. These seven songs celebrate and praise Christ of Christmas, Jesus, the Promised Messiah, who came into the world in the flesh to redeem and save all people of all nations from their sin.
1 Timothy 3:16 is considered one of the earliest creeds which was sang by the early church before Paul’s conversion, becoming later the foundation for the Apostle’s creed. It is one that not only speaks of the birth of Lord Jesus, coming in the flesh but it also provides the most comprehensive summary of the Gospel of Salvation in all of Scripture. This song consists of 7 stanzas, short sentences that summarize the essence and the contents of the Gospel of our Christian Faith. We would all do well to put to memory.
The first stanza speaks of the mystery of godliness: “Great is the mystery of godliness”. The second stanza speaks of Christ’s incarnation: “God was manifested in the flesh”. The third stanza speaks of Christ’s resurrection: “Vindicated by the Spirit”. The fourth stanza speaks of Christ’s appearances: “Seen by angels”. The fifth speaks of preaching the gospel of Christ: “Proclaimed among the nations”. The last stanza speaks of Christ’s followers: “Believed on in the world”. The seven stanza speaks of Christ’s ascension: “Taken up in glory”.
This hymn is the creed that summarizes our Christian faith. It has 6 verbs that point to our Lord Jesus.
(1) He was manifested (revealed) in the flesh,
(2) Justified (or vindicated) in the Spirit,
(3) Seen (or beheld) of angels,
(4) Preached (or proclaimed) unto the Gentiles,
(5) Believed on in the world,
(6) Received up (or taken up) into glory.
The first and the last lines of the song contrast Christ’s descent to Earth in line 1 “He was manifest in the flesh”, and his ascent back into heaven in line 6 “received up (taken up) into glory”. The first stanza of this song speaks of the mystery of godliness: It says, “Without controversy – beyond all question – or by common confession- Great is the Mystery of Godliness”.
The word “godliness” means righteousness; and holiness. This is a reference to the mystery revealed to us in which our salvation is purchased by the only godly one, the Lord Christ Jesus, who by the merits of his life and sacrificial death on the cross, provides the only way and means by which we can become righteous, holy and godly. This profound mystery revealed in Christ, the only Godly, the Holy One, the Righteous One, the Crucified and the Risen LORD is now explained by the common confession of faith among all who have placed their faith in Him alone as LORD and Saviour, the only one who make us holy, godly and righteous.
The second stanza speaks of Christ’s incarnation: “God was manifested in the flesh”. The first stanza, “the mystery of godliness” is founded upon the phrase of the second stanza “God was manifested in the flesh.” The fact that the Lord Jesus, the self-existent, pre-existent, uncreated Creator of the universe, who is the Spirit, indwells in the unapproachable light, takes on human flesh. This is the unfathomable great mystery. How could we have possibly seen God who is Spirit?
The Gospel of John 1:1-14 describes how God came in the flesh. It says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth”. The Gospel of John also says, concerning Jesus, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and who is in the bosom of the Father, has made him known” (John 1:18). Yes, if we want to see God, we must look at Lord Jesus, and see who He is and what He has done for us. He said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). This is the foundation of our faith, the wellspring of salvation, our confession of faith: “Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh”. This is what Christmas is all about. God came to earth to save us. Praise Him.
The third stanza in the song of 1 Timothy 3:16 speaks of Christ’s resurrection: “Vindicated or justified by the Spirit”. “Vindicated” means “to justify or to declare righteous.” Our Lord Jesus was condemned to death for His claim that he was the Messiah, the Son of God. For these claims, Jesus our Lord was put to death on the cross as a blasphemer and criminal, but these charges were utterly refuted when Christ was raised from the dead. This vindication served as the declaration that all His claims to be the Messiah, the Promised Saviour, and Son of God, God in the flesh and in His saying “I AM” were true indeed. The Holy Spirit of His Divine Nature raised his human body from the dead and proved that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God, proving His righteousness as Romans 1:4, says, “Christ, Jesus was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness.” The Spirit of God continues to vindicate the Lord Jesus by empowering the ministry of His body, the church, members of that body, to go forth with his Gospel of salvation throughout the whole world even today, bringing many people to His kingdom and this will continue until His coming again.
The fourth stanza in the song speaks of Christ’s appearances: “Seen by angels”. In the fourth Christmas song in Luke 2:8-14, the angels appeared to the shepherds on Christmas Day, at the birth of our Lord Jesus and sang with great joy the first Christmas Carol, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace, good will to those on whom His favor rests”. Being born of a virgin and laid in a manger was an inconceivable mystery to the angels as they looked upon that scene of divine humility. Christ was seen by angles that ministered to Him in the wilderness of temptation. They would even tend to him in the garden of Gethsemane. They would then roll away the stone at his tomb, not to let Jesus out but to let the women and his disciples in. They would then announce to the women, “He’s not here. He has risen like he said.” Then later they said to his disciples He would come again in the same way just as they saw him going up to heaven.
The mystery of godliness, does not stop here, God the Creator, the one who was revealed in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit and seen by angels while He was on earth to save us is also proclaimed among the nations. In the fifth stanza, “Proclaimed among the nations” of the Mystery Christmas song in 1 Timothy 3:16, speaks of preaching the gospel of Christ. This is great news for all of us as Gentiles and Jews who have heard the Gospel of Christ which commands His Church to go and preach His love, His Gospel of salvation to all nations and be witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and even to every part of the earth (Matthew 28:17 & Mark 16:15). Yes, and to this day, the message of the Gospel is being preached throughout the world as we keep praying to God the Father, Yes Lord, “Your Kingdom Come”.
The sixth stanza speaks more than proclamation of Gospel among the nations, but this message believed by many in the world. It speaks of Christ’s followers: “Believed on in the world”. We know, at the end of Christ’s earthly ministry, there were only 120 believers who met together after his resurrection. But within a few weeks, thousands were added to their number. Within a few years, the Gospel had spread throughout the nations of the Roman Empire. Christ the Lord of all, has promised to build His church, right? Yes, the mystery of godliness, Christ the Lord, the Holy, Godly, the Righteous One came to earth in the flesh; and what a joy to know the truth of the Gospel, to be saved by it and to witness its power to save those who also believe from every nation and tribe and tongues and peoples. Praise Him.
The final and the seventh stanza in the great mystery song of Christmas has to do with what is going to happen with us. It speaks of Christ’s ascension: “Taken up in glory”. In Acts 1, beginning in verse 9, there is a description of the scene, there we read, “Jesus was lifted up while the disciples were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven”. Oh, I long for that day to see him face-to-face, when the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea, the Day that surely is coming.
In creation, man was made in God’s image; but in the incarnation, God took upon himself man’s image, the Word became flesh. The babe in the manger had to be a son of man according to the flesh yet Immanuel, God with us, according to the Spirit. He had to take upon himself human nature in order to take away our sin. These are the truths of all Christmas Songs that centre on why Jesus came to earth to save mankind and this can be real in each heart today. He came in humiliation to save us from our sin but He will come again in glory to bring us the joy of being with Him forever in the new heaven and the new earth. Until this day comes, let us keep praying “Amen Lord, Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven” Amen Come Lord Jesus.
(3) The Mystery of the Trinity
The Bible records sufficient evidence of the Trinity, even though that word does not appear in the Bible. The One Triune God is not three parts nor three gods as some people may think, but One God in Three and Three in One. Yes, it is a mystery that has baffled people for centuries. It is difficult to understand but does not make it untrue. Difficulty does not equate to falsehood.
God is not a mathematical problem, whereby we must find the solution. God is the maker and the sustainer of this complex universe. We cannot as human comprehend God. We must take seriously God’s self-revelation in the Bible, as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and must not be lightly dismiss it.
In our modern times, some try to dismiss the Christian faith saying that the belief in One Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, was invented later in the council of Nicea in 325 AD, was not rooted in the Bible or taught by the apostles of Christ before that time. Here is a quick history of the Christian Faith from its beginning.
The early Christians until 150 AD, Jews and Gentiles believed and accepted the apostolic teaching according to the New Testament that clearly declared their belief in the full deity of Jesus and followed His instructions to baptize new believers, Jews and Gentiles, in the Name of One God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They never believed in three gods. From 150- 320 AD, Christianity spread so fast, wrong views emerged when bishops sought to explain to people, believers and pagans, how God is One in three persons; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit without becoming like pagans’ belief in many gods. For example, Christian writers, such as Origin and Tertullian state, “The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are coeternal, three in number but one being- one substance- one essence- one nature”.
But Arius, the Egyptian bishop in the year 320 AD, denied the deity of Christ and said that God the Father created the Son, and the Son is not fully God. At the Church Council in Nicaea in modern Turkey in 325 AD, 318 Bishops from Egypt, Jerusalem, Antioch, Greece and Rome, gathered to refute bishop Arius’ view that denied the deity of Christ. Athanasius, the Council’ secretary recorded that 300 bishops against 18, affirmed the apostolic Teaching of the deity of Christ according to the New Testament from 50-67 AD, affirmed the writings of the apostolic fathers from 100- 150 AD, affirming together the Creedal statement, “We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ. True God from True God. One essence with the Father, Begotten not created”.
So, from the beginning of the New Testament Church in 33 AD and even today, Christians never believed in three gods, but always believed in One True God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that exists eternally before the time began. In particular, of the Son, the apostle John 1:1 &14 said, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth”.
Q: What is the Old Testament Basis of the belief in One God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
In first book of the Bible in Genesis 1:1-2, we read, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters”. God the Father spoke, “Let there be light”. God the Son was the Word spoken, and God the Holy Spirit moved upon the water. And then God spoke again and said, “Let Us make man in our image and so God created man”. And in Isaiah 6:8, God spoke and said, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Here, as “I,” and also as “Us.” This proves that “I” is “Us” and “Us” is “I.”
In these sayings, the Hebrew word used for God “Elohim” is a plural noun but is used here with the two singular verbs, create and make. And in all of the 39 Books of the Old Testament, God is both singular and plural. Of God the Father, Isaiah 63:16 says, “You, O Lord, are our father; our Redeemer from of old is your name”. In Malachi 2:10, the prophet said “Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us?”
And in Isaiah 48:16-17, God says, “And now the Sovereign Lord has sent me, with his Spirit. This is what the Lord says – your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel”. In verse 16, God the Son is speaking and He identifies the Father [the Sovereign Lord] and His Spirit as having sent Him. In the next verse, 17 the Son is clearly spoken of as the Lord. Here three Persons who are God without denying the fact that He is the only One God.
Of the Son, Proverbs 30:4 says, “Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and the name of his son? Tell me if you know!” And again, about the Son, Micah 5:2 said, “But you, Bethlehem, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times”.
Of the Holy Spirit, Isaiah 61:1 says, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners”. TheLord Jesus, reading Isaiah 61:1 in Luke 4:18 in the Synagogue of Nazareth, said that Scripture is fulfilled in Him and confirmed that the Sovereign Lord, the Father, sent Him and the Holy Spirit anointed Him to preach the good news.
And so, the teaching of the 39 books of the Old Testament about the nature of God, identifies God Himself as One God, revealed to us both in the singular One God and in the plural, “Let US make”, unified three Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The New Testament confirms that God is one, but also, introduces Him in three personalities, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
For example; Jesus said, “I am in the Father and the Father is in me… I and the Father are one… He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:11; 10:30).
In the Baptism of Lord Jesus, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, were present. The Father, spoke from heaven, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”. The Lord Jesus was in the water being baptized by John and God the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove. The Bible says in Matthew 3:16017, “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and John saw the Spirit of God descending upon Jesus like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased”.
In the Baptismal formula in Matthew 28:19, Lord Jesus said to His disciples, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. In this Baptismal formula, Lord Jesus spoke of One God and in His Name, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. He did not say in the Names 1 + 1+ 1 as 3 gods, but One God and in His Name.
In the Prayer, we pray to the Father, in the Name of the Son to receive our request, and the Holy Spirit guides and intercedes for us (John 16:23 & Romans 8:26).
In the Benediction, in 2 Corinthians 13:14, we see “The Grace of the Lord Jesus, and the Love of God the Father, and fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with You all. Amen”
It is good for every Christian to remember that the Christian Creed of Nicene AD 325 confirms what the Bible states about the One Triune God:
“We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father. Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation He came down from heaven; he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made human. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried. And the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; He ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit he Lord, the giver of life. He proceeds from the Father and the Son, and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified. He spoke through the prophets. We believe in one holy universal and apostolic church. We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and to life in the world to come. Amen”.
(4) The Mystery of God’s Will
We may ask two questions concerning the mystery of God’s will: One, what is the mystery of God’s will? Two, How and what should we do about it?
Apostle Paul says to the believers in Christ in Ephesians 1:9 and 3:4-6, that “God made known to us the mystery of His will… as you have heard about the mystery of Christ …this mystery is that through preaching of the gospel the gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus”. God wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth of His salvation in Christ, the Only Way, the Truth and the Life (1 Timothy 2:6 & John 14:6).
So, the Mystery of God’s will is that, in Christ, all the redeemed believers of all history until the end of times, are chosen in Christ, adopted to be the children of God, know God’s will for the world and for themselves, inherit the eternal life and have full assurance to be in the New Heaven and the New Earth, and the Holy Spirit in them guides and reminds them of these blessing while they live on earth. Yes, by His Crucifixion and His Resurrection, the believing Jews and the believing Gentiles are chosen and saved in Christ Jesus and by faith in that Gospel, both are saved and become one in His body. For in Christ, as it is written in Galatians 3:16-28,“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”.Yes, the apostle Paul said, “But now it has been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets of the New Testament that by faith in Christ Jesus, Jews and Gentiles receive every blessing of the promises of salvation… For the promises were made to Abraham and to his Seed offspring. It does not say, “And to seeds referring to many, but referring to one, “to your Seed who is Christ” (Romans 16:25; 1 Cor 2:7-9).
In Christ, God is bringing for Himself all His chosen believers, Jews and Gentiles, His One Body, from all nations to be the bride of Christ. This has been the plan from beginning to end. This is an amazing revelation! And we have a huge role to play in this age before the coming of the Lord. This is why the blessed Lord God had made known to us the Mystery of His will for salvation of all people, so let us get on board and do what He entrusted us to do; preaching the Good News of His grace of salvation to all people. Let us then labor for Christ, the loving God our Redeemer. Let Him be the Lord of our lives, aligning us with God’s eternal purpose and will. And until He comes, let us continue to pray “Yes Lord” “Your kingdom come” “Come Lord Jesus”. Amen.
(5) The Mystery of Israel’s Partial Harding
Why out of 15 million Jews worldwide in 2025, do only 1.7 million Jews believe in Jesus as their Messiah? What is the mystery of Israel’s partial hardening?
The majority of the Jews refuse to believe that Jesus, the crucified and the Risen Lord was God who came in the flesh, as the Promised Messiah, to save the world.Of this rejection apostle Paul said in Romans 11: 25 -36., “I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brethren, lest you should be wise in your own opinion: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved”.
To the believers in Jesus in Rome, Jews and Gentiles, the Apostle Paul said that this hardening – this rejection – is temporary and will end when the “fullness of the Gentiles” has come to faith in Christ before the coming of the Lord. He explained that the majority of the Jews are hardened, but some believed and were saved as himself. He said that there are others Jews, he calls them the elect remnant will believe in Jesus as the Messiah and will be saved. There is always, past- present and future two Israel: Spiritual Israel and Physical Israel. Paul makes it clear “All Spiritual Jews will be saved”.
In Romans 9:11, he explained that “Not every ethnic Jew is part of the true spiritually saved Israel. Only those who believe in Jesus as the Messiah receive the saving promises. And the only ones to believe are those who are chosen according to “God’s purpose of election”. Paul revealed a big mystery saying; that the true Spiritual Israel includes all believers, Jews and Gentiles, and are considered in God’s eye, “The True Children of Abraham”. Because they believed, as Abraham did, God called him “father of many nations” (Rom 4:9-18; Gal 3:6-9, 26-29).
The Apostle Paul also explained in his letters that the church is the mystery union of Jews and Gentiles in the body of Christ; the continuation of God’s People of the Old Testament, the true spiritual Israel. Behind any rejection of Jesus from any false religions, ideological beliefs and cultural or tradition observance, there is spiritual reason as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:3-6, “If the gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those whose minds the god of this age has blinded those who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, should shine on them”. Satan has a multitude of tricks he uses to intercept the light of heavenly truth from reaching hearts and minds. This is what we might call blindfolds or veils. A blindfold does not reduce the intensity of light coming from the sun; it interferes with our ability to see the light. Satan’s strategies in no way reduce the intensity of the light of Christ that comes to us, but they can interfere with our ability to see His light. Satan cannot blind people to the light of Christ without people choosing to wear his blindfold. Satan creates and supplies many attractive blindfolds, but we have freewill to choose to wear it or not! Satan must get people to accept his lies in place of the truth of God. Why would people choose to blind themselves with lies and to choose to stay in the dark rather than come into the light? In John 3:19, our LORD Jesus gave His diagnosis as to why: “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved- to choose- darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil”. In present time as He did in the past, God is saving by His grace all the elect remnant from within Israel. And this is proof that God has not rejected Israel.
In in past and present times a minority of Israel believed and are saved while the majority of Israel is being hardened (Rom 11:7), but that will not always be the case. Before the second coming of Christ, God is now and will be save into the full number of Gentiles believers as well as saving and removing the hardening that is upon Israel. He will pour out his saving mercy and “all Israel”, (not every ethnic Jew), but “all elect Israel” will come to faith in Christ. Amen.
(6) The Mystery union of Christ and the Church
The mystery union of the Church with Christ is captured in the simple prepositional phrase, “In Christ,” used by apostle Paul in one form or another 164 times. Believers “In Christ”, are chosen, called, justified, sanctified, redeemed, assured of the resurrection, and given every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:4,7; Rom. 6:5; 8:1; 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 1:3). He explains that union with Christ spans/extends space and time. So, believers in Christ have died with Him- Rom. 6:1-11; Gal. 2:20; resurrected with Christ- Eph. 2:5; Col. 3:1, ascended with Christ to share now in his reign in the heavenly realms (Rom. 5:17; Eph. 2:6) and are destined to share Christ’s coming glory with him (Phil 3:20; 1 John. 3:2). The union with Christ is spiritual reality so what is true of him becomes true of us as Paul says in Romans 8:17, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs; heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory”.
Being in Christ is mysterious, “Profound mystery” as Paul said in Ephesians 5:32, Christ in us and we in Him! So, how do we live “in Him” and how does He live “in us”? The Bible speaks of 4 images that help us gain some insight into this profound mystery and what our relationship with Him looks like.
The first image describes the union between Christ and His Church being a vine and its branches as the Lord said in John 15:1-8, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. I am the vine; you are the branches. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing… If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so, you will be My disciples”. Abiding in Christ means remaining connected to him through faith and keeping us dependent on him in everything we do. Just as a vine provides nourishment and sustenance to its branches, so Christ our Lord is the source of our life and strength. This union in Christ enables us to bear fruit and experience joy and a meaningful life.
The second image that describes the union between Christ and His Church is a body and its head. The Bible said in Ephesians 4:15-16, 5:30-32, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Romans 12:55:23, Colossians 1:18; 1:24, “Christ, is the Head, and the whole body depends on Him, and all the parts of the body are joined and held together… For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones… This is a great mystery; I speak concerning Christ and the church… For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit, we were all baptized- joined- into one body; Jews or Greeks… Each part does its own work to make the whole body grow and be strong with love”. Our Lord Jesus, the head of the body, provides life, direction, and authority. In this spiritual union, believers in Christ demonstrate both unity and diversity, with different members contributing unique gifts and functions to the whole. Every part of the body needs every other part, no matter how important or insignificant each seems to be. This means that no one should ever say, “I don’t matter”, the attitude of despair. Nor should anyone say, “I don’t need anyone”; the attitude of pride.
In 1 Cor 12:15-21, the Apostle Paul tells us to avoid both attitudes, “Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it”. So, our union with Christ, make us, as His church, the one place in the world where there should be there nurture, care, and compassion for one another with our Blessed Head providing us life, direction and power to do so. Praise Him.
The third image that describes the union between Christ and His Church is a building and its foundation. The Bible states in Ephesians 2:18-22; and in 1 Peter 2:4,5 that through Christ, the believers “become members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit”. And in 1 Cor 3:1-17, the Word of God emphasizes again that Believers in Christ, are God’s Temple, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
God’s Temple, is not a bricks and mortar type of building but rather a living stones building of believers. It is a flesh and blood building, of which Jesus, the Crucified and Risen Lord is its foundation. The biggest characteristic of a temple is that it is “Sacred”. The Church, made up of believers in Christ, is fearfully sacred. It is so sacred that if anyone dares to destroy God’s people, they are headed for deep trouble, as it is written in 1 Corinthians 3:17, “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple”.
This reminds us of what Paul’s experience on the Damascus Road. Before becoming a Christian, he was a zealous Pharisee, intending to arrest, kill and persecute, believers in Jesus. While on his way to Damascus to do so, there was a suddenly brilliant flash of light when he encountered the glorious Risen Lord Jesus, who asked, “Why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4).
In that instant, Saul/Paul was confronted with the truth that to persecute the church was to persecute the LORD Jesus. The main point is this, “If anyone tries to destroy God’s temple, God will destroy that person”. Thanks be to God, our LORD Jesus promised that His Church, God’s Holy Temple, will endure and will never be destroyed despite all the opposition and every severe persecution. As He said in Matthew 16:18, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it“.
The fourth image that describes the union between Christ and His Church is a husband with his wife, a bridegroom with his bride. This is an intimate, personal metaphor of marriage picturing our relationship with Christ as it is written in Ephesians 5:25-32, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy… and to present her to himself as a radiant church… holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. No one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church, for we are members of his body. For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery, but I am talking about Christ and the church”.
The Church as a bride means that she is dearly loved, and this metaphor of marriage signifies a profound, intimate, and inseparable bond that is considered a spiritual mystery beyond full human comprehension. This marriage bond is an eternal covenant relationship as the Lord God said, “the two will become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24; Eph. 5:32). Together the two became one spirit as it is written in “He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:17). This is confirmed by the prayer of the LORD for His church as He said, “Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me” (John 17:21-23). This is indeed a profound mystery!
In this union between Christ and His Church, the vine and its branches; the body and its head; the building and its foundation and the bridegroom and to his bride, our need is always to depend and cooperate with His Spirit in us that Christ be expressed and glorified through our lives. Our Lord said, “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Our spiritual union with Christ does not mean that our unique souls are swallowed up in Him in that we lose our unique identities. Rather, we are like two gears meshed together. His as the ‘master gear’ the drive – the life-giving spirit to our dependent soul – the ‘driven gear’. We therefore function as one for the purposes of fulfilling God’s Great Plan in and for His Church.
Our Lord Jesus, the True Vine, the Cornerstone, our Head, and our Bridegroom, in the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation chapter 22, gives His Church, His Bride, the final encouraging message, “The Call for Endurance in this world”. This is to keep His Word, to serve Him and to stand on His promises and expect His coming.
Let us then look forward to his return and invite others to join us as the apostle John said, “And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17; 20). So let us stand on His promises as He said, “Surely I am coming quickly.” And we always keep praying, “Amen! “Come Lord Jesus”.
(7& 8) The Mystery the 7 Stars and
the Mystery of the 7 Golden Lampstands
In Revelation chapter 1, the Apostle John wrote to the persecuted church before AD 70, “I John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus the Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him…I saw the Lord among seven golden lampstands, and in His right hand he held seven stars… And he said to me, here the mystery of the seven stars and the seven lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches” (Rev 1: 1-20).
In that vision, the Apostle John saw the Risen Lord Jesus in a glorious scene standing in the midst of Seven Golden Lampstands and holding in His right hand Seven Stars. Christ introduced Himself as God Yahweh the Almighty and said in Revelation 1: 17-18, “I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One… And I hold the keys of death and Hell”.
In highly symbolic language, the Vision describes the Risen Lord Jesus in His position and His character. His position as the Judge and the king is in His symbols of his robe and chest “dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest”. His character as the Lord God Almighty, the ancient of Days, are in symbols of His head, eyes, voice, hand, mouth and his feet… The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance”.
Then the Lord addresses the seven letters to seven churches in Asia Minor. He instructed the apostle John saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches in Asia: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” Each letter to the 7 Churches, begins with a personal description of Christ taken from the First Vision of the glorious Christ given in Revelation 1. Christ, the Lord King and the Judge, gave to five Churches an “X ray” of their condition. He praises their good deeds and rebukes their bad deeds, calling them to repent. Only the two churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia who receive from Him praises and no rebuke. The 7 letters unveiled Satan’s three strategies that aim to quench the light of the church: Persecution, false teachings and lukewarm or compromised life. Satan uses Persecution to insert fear and silence the witness of the Church to proclaim the Gospel of Christ. He also uses False teaching / ideology and false religion; to distort the truth of God’s Word and confuse people from knowing the Light of Gospel of Christ. Satan attempts to force the Church people to have a morally compromised attitude and lukewarm life so that the light of the Gospel would have no effect.
The glorious Christ who walks among His Church and sits on the throne reveals to the Church, in symbolic images what is happening behind the scenes; the invisible forces of Satan that continues to work against God’s people to quench their light to the world. The symbol of a great dragon represents Satan, as seen in John’s vision in chapter 12, “I saw a great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world” (Revelation12:9). Other symbolic figures of Satan’s invisible forces in his war against the Church are two beasts. The first Beast with 10 heads comes out of the Sea – symbol of troubles and wars (Rev 13). It represents at John’s time, the political power of Rome that persecutes the Church. The Roman Empire with 10 heads = kings/ nations under Rome, the first being Nero who severely persecuted the Church.
The second Beast comes of the land. He has two horns like a lamb, but speaks like a dragon. It represents any false religious power or ideology that deceives people from knowing the light of the Gospel of Christ such as was the Roman pagan religion. But as always persecution fails to destroy the Church, because the Lord is watching over her. Therefore, Satan uses his second tactic; false teaching, false religion or ideology to distort the truth of God’s Word and confuse people from knowing the Light of Gospel of Christ.
Another symbolic figure of Satan’s invisible forces in his war against the Church is a mystery woman sitting on the sea beast in Revelation 17. The woman is called Babylon = a secret code known by Christians of the first century for Rome. Rome used its political and religious pagan power to try to destroy the Church. In Revelation 17:15-18, the woman is described as a scarlet woman sitting on the read beast and she is drunk with the blood of God’s holy people; the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.
Satan in every age, uses his three powers; persecution, false worship or ideology and moral compromise to try to destroy the Church and deceive people into unbelief, seducing them away from any interest in knowing the Living God as their loving Redeemer. But the Lord continues to encourage His Church to shine her light, and we are to keep our light shining in the world, in spite of the ongoing Satanic schemes try to force us to compromise and to be lukewarm. Thanks be to our God who holds in His hands His ministers of His Church and walks among His Seven Churches to restore our souls again and strengthen us with the power of His Word as we continue to complete our witnesses to the world until the end of time when He comes.
To Ephesus, the busy serving church, The Lord called her to return to her first love to God that seeks His glory rather than seeking her own glory or to serve Christ out of duty.
To Smyrna, the persecuted church, the Lord called her to endure persecution and the Crown of Life would be hers.
To Pergamum, the compromising church, the Lord called her not to compromise its beliefs with pagan religion.
To Thyatira Church, the corrupt church, the Lord called her not to tolerate false beliefs to please men.
To Sardis, the dead church, the Lord called her to wake up from her sleep.
To Philadelphia, the faithful church, the Lord promised her of an open door no one can shut and she will be like a pillar no one can destroy.
To Laodicea, the lukewarm church, the Lord called her to overcome its lukewarm life and let Christ in and was given a promise of a place of honour with Christ.
Our Lord said to His Church, and to every Christian, “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell… Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matt 10:28; 7:15).Also, He said, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:34-36).
Our Lord said to His church in Matthew 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world… Let your light shine before men and as He said to John in Revelation 1:20 “The seven lampstands are the seven churches”. Although Satan attempts to destroy the light of Church he cannot for the Lord said “I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18).
In our Christian Walk, there are going to be times of trials and burdens, troubles and sufferings that just seem to come one after the other. There are problems and sorrow that seem too big for us to handle. But our Lord knows! None of our sufferings have gone unnoticed. Yes, nothing has escaped His watchful eye. He will never let us be crushed by it. This is what Paul experienced and said, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).
This is our comfort to realize that God is there for us, as it is written, “In all their distress He too was distressed, and the angel of His presence saved them. In His love and mercy, He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old” (Isaiah 63:9).
Yes, the Lord Jesus, who died for our sins, and rose again for our justification, He is the Glorious One who holds everything in his hand He still walks among his Churches today and holds in His hand its ministers as he did with the seven Churches of Asia Minor in the first Century. This is our comfort and our strength today. He still works in us to restore our souls again and strengthen us with the power of His Word to shine His light to the world until He comes. Let us join the Old Testament believers and say to our God, “No eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4).
Until that Day, let us “Be vigilant; because our adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Let us “Resist him, steadfast in the faith. And the God of all grace, will perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle us. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 5:8-11).
(9) Mystery of the Woman Sitting on the Beast
In Revelation 17:1-7, the apostle John wrote, “I saw a drunken woman sit on a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand, drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: And upon her forehead was a name written, “Mystery, Babylon the Great”. When I saw her, I marveled with great amazement. Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished?” I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns”.
This is the mystery of many whys and cries of God’s people through the ages. Why are God’s people, who are called Christians, suffer various kinds of persecution? In Acts 14:22 and in 2 Timothy 3:12 the Bible says, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God…In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”. According to Matthew 5:10-11, our Lord Jesus, “In the world you will have tribulations. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you”
The story of the visions of the book of Revelation tells us about “the Tale of the Two Cities”, which is represented in the symbols of two women. The first in Revelation 12 and the second in Revelation 17. The first woman represents God’s People of Old Testament from which the Church of the New Testament is born. She is called the city of God, the bride of the lamb. She is sealed with the seal of the Living God, the mark of the Father and the Lamb. She Suffers persecution from the scarlet woman for limited times, symbolize by 10 days in Revelation 2, or 3 1/2 years or 1260 days in Revelation 12, or 1 hour in Revelation 13. However, her destiny is glorious and that glory will be in the New Heaven and in the New Earth at the coming of Her Great Redeemer, the Lord Jesus in Revelation 19-22.
The second woman in Revelation 17 is called in symbolic terms- the city of Babylon. She represents the political and religious power and the world who persecute the Church of Christ. At the time of the early Church: That woman represented the political power of the Roman Empire and the religious power of Jerusalem that persecuted the Christians so severely. She has the mark /seal of the beast, which means she belongs to Satan. In symbolic term, she is sitting on dreadful beast. She is drunk on the blood of the followers of Jesus. Her destiny will be in the Hell fire. She is one of three instruments that Satan uses to put off or destroy the light of the Church, as the Lord Jesus revealed to apostle John in Revelation 1-3 and 12-17 namely: (1) The Beast from the Sea represents persecution by the political power or group and anyone who persecute God’s people. (2) The Beast from the Earth represents any false religious worship and any ideology that is contrary to the Word of God.
(3) The City of Babylon, represented by a scarlet woman who not only persecutes the church but also attempts to seduce and attract all nations away from seeking God, forcing God’s people, the church to have a compromised attitude to gain a comfortable modernist life.
The vision says, “The woman sits on many waters, seven hills and on a scarlet beast which had 7 heads and 10 horns. There is a title on forehead, “Mystery Babylon the great”. The angel esplained to John in Rev 17:15-18, “The waters which you saw, where the woman sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues… And the woman whom you saw is that great city of Babylon”, which reigns over 10 kings representing 10 nations that Rome Ruled (1 Peter 5:12-14).
The Beast that you saw was, and is not, and will go to perdition (The Emperor Nero died after he killed Peter and Paul and sent John to exile). The 7 heads are 7 mountains on which the woman sits. There are also seven kings (emperors). Five have fallen, died, one is (Nero), and the other has not yet come. And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition”.
The Beast at the time of John was Nero who persecuted the Church very severely for three and half years. He executed the apostles Peter, and Paul and before he died, he exiled the apostle John in Patmos. He was the Emperor No 5 of the 7. The vision simply said, that Five emperors have fallen- died, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and then at the time of John, Nero No 5 died a painful death. After him came Vespasian No 6, and then No 7 Titus who destroyed the Temple and Jerusalem. Domitian was No 8 but was considered to be one of the seven because he was like Nero who persecuted the Church.
The Lord Jesus is simply telling the seven churches of the first century that persecution will come again by another emperor like Nero, but the church will continue to march on in victory and will never be destroyed.
That was the good news for the persecuted Church in verses12-14, as the angel said to John “The Ten Kings (of the Romans Empire) for one hour- a limited time- with the beast the Emperor of Rome, would make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”
So, the main message of the vision to the early Church is this: God is saying: Persecution of the Church by the political power of Babylon –Rome- and by Jerusalem’s religious leaders will not be sacceed. That echoes the words of the Lord when He said, “Upon the rock of faith in Me as the Christ the Son of God, I will build my church, and the powers / gates of hell will not overcome it. Watch and pray that you may stand before the Son of Man. These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (Matthew 16:18 & Luke 21:34-36 & John 16:33).
If we use the things of the world, be careful not be becoming attached to them, for this world, as we know it. will soon pass away” (1 Cor 7:31). The vision of the fall of the great city of the world- Babylon, Rome, and any world power is all about clearing the site for the City of God that will come down from heaven of heavens at the coming of the Lord where we will have no more sorrows or any troubles, sickness tears or even death. We don’t belong to the city of Babylon, the world. We belong to another city whose foundation, architect and builder is God. Let us heed God’s call and come out spiritually of the city of man “for here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come” (Hebrews 13:13).
(10) The Mystery of Evil and Suffering
Since the fall of Adam and Eve, humans have been puzzled by the problem of suffering and evil, and never stop asking “Why”. There is no satisfying answer to the human cry of why. Suffering and Evil in the world will always be a mystery, but there is hope in the God of the Bible, who gives comfort and enables us to move on.
Scholars believe that there are two kinds of evil: Moral evil and Natural Evil. Moral evil refers to evil things committed by man such as: war, murder, crime of injustices, discrimination, slavery, persecution, ethnic cleansing, and all kinds of abuses man does to others. Natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcano eruptions, bushfirere, drought, and famine take many lives.
People of every age try to explain why evil and suffering is happening. According to Atheism, atheists believe that Suffering is inherent in the unpleasant blind process of evolution, the cruel works of mother nature. It is due to a blind gene we inherent. Some are lucky, others are miserable. There is no god, no standard for good or bad. They say, billions of years ago there was nothing. And ‘nothing’ exploded in a big bang creating everything. Throughout endless time, the exploded things rearranged themselves and developed into everything in the universe. The cruel works of natural selection of mother nature, caused much suffering of millions of the lower animals. Individuals better suited to their environment leave more offspring, passing on their lucky genes, while less adapted individuals with weak genes are less likely to survive and reproduce, thus, decreasing their population over generations.
According to Hinduism, Hindus believe that suffering is the Karma of previous life. When a being dies, it will be reborn as an insect, monkey, plant, cow or man until one day it is released from this endless cycle of death and reborn.
According to Buddhism, Buddhists believe in Hindu Karma, but and say suffering is result of our desires (good of bad). When we stop our desires for anything, and let it die completely, then we will not suffer then anymore.
According to Islam, Muslims believe that suffering is our fate. It is Allah’s will for all things. It is written on your forehead, hung around your neck. You cannot change it; you cannot escape from it, but you must accept it.
So, what really does the Bible say about suffering?
What the Bible says may not satisfy us completely, but it is significant and gives us good reason to trust God who provides an anchor for us so that when we face pain and suffering, our faith will not be shaken.
Our Lord Jesus pointed out that people may experience three kinds of sufferings in this life: 1) Deserved suffering, 2) Innocent suffering and 3) Righteous suffering.
Deserved suffering, as the result of sin, is like in the case of the paralyzed man in John 5:1-14, who suffered for his sin 38 years. The Lord said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you” (John 5:14).
We sin, and we suffer misery for it. Sin always brings misery. It’s all sin can do. Deserved suffering is inevitable as the Bible said, “Be sure, your sin will find you out… Whatever a man sows, this he will also reap” (Numbers 32:23 & Galatians 6:7).
But God in his mercy offers forgiveness, to those who seek Him as the Bible says, in 1 John 1:8-9, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” And this is what the Lord said to both the paralyzed man in Matthew 9:2–8 and to the woman in Luke 5:18–26, “Your sins are forgiven”.
Suffering is an inevitable result of living in a fallen, sinful world as the Bibe says in Romans 5:12-21, “Sin entered the world through the disobedience of one man, and death through sin, came to all people”. And in Romans 8:22-25, we read, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning in the pains right up to the present time. For the creation was subjected to futility- decay, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom Not only so, but we ourselves, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for the redemption of our bodies… the Spirit helps us in our weakness… intercedes for us through wordless groans.”
But not all sufferings are result of sin, because the Lord Jesus pointed out that there are other causes as to why people suffer. Innocent suffering such as the case of the man born blind in John 9.
This kind of suffering was not random or without purpose, because the Lord said, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him”. And one of the Biblical answers of why some people are born with disability is this; that “the good works of God might be displayed in them.”
God was glorified, when the Lord Jesus healed the man born blind. The man received not only physical sight, but also spiritual sight when he believed in Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God and worshipped Him. And in the case of Lazarus being raised from the dead, “many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him” John 11:45. So, sickness and suffering may lead some people to believe, and receive their spiritual sight and have eternal life.
The third kind of suffering, our Lord Jesus mentioned is righteous suffering or suffering for righteousness.
Our Lord Jesus said in Matthew 5:10-12, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you”. Also, He said to the Jewish Leaders, and the generation who rejected Him in Matthew 23:35, “Upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly, I say to you, of all these things will come upon this generation”. Indeed, “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” as the apostle Paul said in 2 Tomothy 3:12.
In many cases we do not understand why bad things happen, but we may join the apostle Paul and take comfort as he said in 2 Cor 4:8-9;16-18, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal”.
Our loving God promises that disabilities and handicaps are temporary. Those conditions are part of this fallen world, not the world to come. And all God’s children, those who by faith in Christ our Saviour are made children of God (John 1;12) will have a bright and glorious future. When Lord Jesus comes in His second Coming, on the Last day, “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy” (Isaiah 35:5-6). Yes, in the New Heaven and in the New Earth, God will sit on the throne and say, “Now everything is new! No longer will there be any curse… no more night… no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away”. As for now, we keep praying “Amen, Come, Lord Jesus”.
The Mystery of the Glorified Body
The apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:20-21, “From Heaven, we await our Saviour, the Lord Jesus, who will change our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power which enables him even to subject all things to himself”. And in 1 Corinthians 15: 51-54, he said, “I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep- die, but we will all be changed in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.” The above Word of God tells us that, at the Coming of Christ, all believers will get a new body, glorified, like the human resurrected body of Christ.
So, we may ask: what will happen when a person dies to his/her spirit and to his/her body?
When a Person dies, the body is destroyed and turned to dust. The Believer’s spirit goes to the presence of God in Paradise as the Lord Jesus said on the cross to the repentant thief, “Today, you will be with Me in Paradise”, and our Lord Jesus said to the Father, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:43; 46). Both spirits went immediately to the presence of God the Father in Paradise, so the believer’s spirit goes there too after the body dies.
But when an unbeliever dies, their spirit goes to a temporary Hell –Hades -Sheol. This is what the Lord Jesus says in Luke 16: 19-26. Paradise and Hell are two separate places, as we see when Lazarus died, the angels carried him to Abraham’s side – he was comforted in Paradise. And the un-repented rich man when he died, found himself in agony, tormented in Hell (Luke 23:43 & 46; 16: 19-26; John 5:28-29; Matt 25:41- 46; 1 Cor15).
And We may also ask: what will Happen when Christ comes for the spirits and the bodies?
At the second coming of Christ, the spirits will reunite with their resurrected bodies and the living will be changed and have a body suitable for life in eternity. In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, the apostle Paul said when Christ comes, believers’ spirits will reunite with their resurrected glorified bodies; and those who are still alive will be changed too, and both the living and the resurrected will have their new glorified bodies and will enjoy the endless joy with the Lord forever. And our Lord Jesus said in John 5:28-29, “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment”.
On the Resurrection Day, it will not make any difference for the Lord God Almighty, whether a person’s body was buried, turned to dust, or lost at the sea, eaten by fish, with people then eating the fish, or the body was destroyed in fire. God the Mighty Creator, knows how to raise the body, and bring it to life for He is able to subject all things to himself (Philippians 3:20-21).
At the Coming of Christ, the new bodies of the believers will have five qualities: Glorious, immortal, Powerful, Spiritual like the angels, and it will be like that of Jesus’ human resurrected Exalted body. In Philippians 3:20-21 and in 1 Corinthians 15: 35-54 it states, “From heaven, we await a Saviour, the Lord Jesus the Christ, who will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power which enables him even to subject all things to himself… The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body… For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality”.
The glorified body that we are going to receive at the coming of the Lord, should be a source of hope and comfort for us, offering us a vision beyond what we go through today; a vision of eternal life and a great bright future, free from suffering and decay. It highlights the transformative power of God’s great grace and His promise of a perfect, joyful, glorious, sinless existence.
Let us then brethren, join the apostle Paul as he said in. Philippians 1:23-24 and in 2 Cor 5:6-8, “To be with Christ, is better by far … We are confident, and would prefer to be away from the earthly body and be at our eternal home with the Lord”. Yes, the Day is coming, when we will finally be changed and returned to the state that God originally created man to be in. 1 Cor 15:54-58 says, “when our mortal body shall have put on immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” Praise God. Amen.
The Mystery of the Third Heaven
The apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:1-4, said that he was caught up to the Third Heaven, Paradise and heard inexpressible things which were beyond human understanding and things that no one is permitted to tell in the present time until the Second Coming of Christ. So, what is the third heaven? What about the first and the second heavens? What does the Bible say about it?
Many of us grew up with the idea that Heaven is that place we go to after we die. A place up there full of peace, joy and glory. That is partly true, but God’s Word revealed to us more mysteries about it, we need to know.
God’s Word tells us of three different heavens. Two Physical and the third is beyond this physical universe called “Haven of Heavens” in 1 Kings 8:27, and “Paradise” in 2 Corinthians 12:4. The first heaven is the most familiar one we can experience with our own eyes. It is made up of the earth’s atmosphere, called the blue sky, or the expanse as it said in Genesis 1:8, “God called the expanse- or sky”. God created the physical aerial heaven in the second day of the creation story. We see the first heaven, or sky, when we look up and see the brides fly, as Lord Jesus said in Matthew 6:26, “Look to the birds of heaven”. In it we see clouds, and rain comes down, airplanes soar and there are space ships and satellites. The second heaven is “The Starry Heaven in the outer space”, where stars, moon and the sun are. God created the second heaven in the fourth day of creation story as He said in Genesis 1:14-19, “Let there be lights in the expanse of heaven – the outer space- to divide the day from the night and it was so. God made the sun, moon and the stars also. And God saw that it was good. So, the evening and the morning were the fourth day”.
The Bible says, “O Lord our God, how majestic is Your name in all the earth. When I see Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, the sun which You have established…The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and the expanse is declaring the work of His hands” “Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing…The Lord created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it… Look at the birds in the sky, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” (Psalms 8:1,3; 19:1, Isaiah 40:26; 42:5; Matt 6:26) Everything in these two physical heavens teach us three important things about Our Lord God: His Majesty; His Sovereignty and His Providence. God holds everything together and He is the sustainer of life, the One Who cares for all His creation.
But there is also, in the space of these two physical heavens, a multitude of invisible spiritual beings we cannot see with our own eyes. In this spiritual realm, there are battles fought for us between the good angels and the bad angels of the evil one. Its influence is real and powerful in our daily life. The Bible says in Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle “wrestling” or “fighting” is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual rulers, against the spiritual authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”.
When kids and young people play video games, they interact on the visible level of the game as they see on the screen. But there is a hidden computerized system determining what happens in the game. This is how the invisible spiritual beings do and work and influence our lives, our decisions and our trials. In Daniel 10, Daniel was praying that God would end Israel’s captivity in Babylon and Persia, forgive their sins, and restore them back to their Land. While he was praying, fasting, wearing sackcloth, and sprinkling himself with ashes, God responded by sending the angel Gabriel to him. After 21 days the Angel Gabriel told Daniel about God’s future plans for Israel. Amazingly, he told him his prayers were opposed by the evil spiritual ruler of Persia for 21 days. God had commanded the angel Michael, to stop that evil spirit and help Daniel to hear God’s answer that came to him by the angel Gabriel. Daniel’s experience illustrates our spiritual fight with evil forces in the unseen heavenly realms when we pray for God’s work, family, friends and the world.
Another well-known example to us is Job and his trials. Job lost his 10 children, his wealth and his health, and his best friends turned against him. But Job did not know that behind the scenes there was Satan, who failed miserably to make Job blaspheme God and turn away from worshipping Him. God’s Word alerts us to put on the amour of God and be aware of the unseen spiritual forces of evil who fight against us; “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly realms. Stand firm with armour of God, having the belt of truth around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the shoes of the gospel of peace. Above all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and sword of the Spirit which is the word of God, and pray in the Spirit on all occasions” (Eph. 6:10-19).
The Third Heaven, called “Paradise” is up beyond this physical universe. It is where all the spirits of all believers have gone before us. But this Paradise will come down to the New Earth as the New Heaven at the coming of the Lord at the end of time to be our lasting eternal home. Its glorious scene now beyond our understanding.
Why no human words to describe it? Why it is now beyond our human understanding?
It is because it is the abode of God. God is there! No man is able to describes God or His presence, as king Solomon said to the Lord God in 1 Kings 8:27, “Behold, Heaven of Heavens cannot contain You”.
The mystery of God’s eternal plan is this; He wants to live with us and for us to enjoy His presence forever. God is faithful to His Word. Yes, as He had promised to come and wash away our sins, and He did so in Christ. He promises to come again and take us there and enjoy His eternal presence forever as He showed His servant John who said in Revelation 21:1-5, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Let us think of the three heavens as levels of grand design. In the first level we learn the basics about God’s creation, and acknowledge God’s majesty, His sovereignty and His providence. That should move us not to worry about our lives but thank him, worship and adore Him for His love and care for us. In the second level and beyond the two physical heavens, we learn to be aware of our spiritual battles we face that shape our character. We experience God’s answer to our prayers like Daniel even the with delay. And we are shielded by His armor and that takes away our fear.
In the third level we look to the Heaven of Heavens awaiting the fulfillment of God’s promise, the hope of the Glory in Christ our Saviour who will come to take us there to live in God’s presence with endless joy for ever and ever. By understanding the three heavens we begin to see how each of them impacts our lives, our prayers and our relationships with each other and with God too. This will help us to overcome any struggle we face and long for our hope of being in the eternal presence of our loving redeemer and our Emmanual God. By knowing this truth, we can live with purpose, hope and deeper connection to our Lord Jesus, whom we love and look for His coming. Yes, the truth of the three heavens helps us to seek more of God and live with renewed mind and faith until He comes.
To this end, Christ our Lord has given us in the last chapter of His Word His promise saying three times “I am coming soon” (Rev 22: 7,12,20). And the bride of Christ is encouraged by His Spirit to invite others through preaching the Good News of His Salvation to all who would hear His voice saying, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life come.” And always our prayer to this great end is to pray and say “Amen! Come Lord Jesus”. Praise the Lord.