Revelation 1:3 comments: Read, hear, and keep

1:3 ¶  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Verse 3 - The reader is blessed. But without understanding from a willing heart reading is wasted.

Nehemiah 8:3  And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law…8  So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.

Ephesians 3:4  Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

The hearer is blessed. Hearing something implies obedience or it is useless.

Psalm 18:44  As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.

Those who keep this information are blessed. One definition of to keep is defined as to protect or guard as in the keep of a castle, the strong tower which is a defense of last resort.

Genesis 3:24  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Another definition of keep is to maintain or follow something as in keep a rule or keep a covenant.

Genesis 2:15  And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

Genesis 18:19  For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

Keeping God’s word to pass on to the next generation is very important, something the Jews failed to do, and one reason why Christians in America are losing in the battle of passing their faith on to the next generation.

Judges 2:10  And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

Still another definition of keep can be to stay as in staying in bed.

Exodus 21:18  And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:

It can also be for a man to stay at home and not be out partying as the following verse hints at the antichrist, the beast of Revelation to come.

Habakkuk 2:5  Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:

Or a wife, who should not be what we called down South a gadabout going around gossiping and visiting others for that purpose, always busy outside of the home.

Titus 2:5  To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

Contrast the verse in Titus with these verses in Timothy.

1Timothy 5:13  And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. 14  I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.

(Note that those verses do not mean that Paul thought women who have to work outside of the home were wicked. This is about bringing reproach on Christ’s name. See the reference to Lydia, a businesswoman, in Act 16:14, 15 and that there is no condemnation of her.)

The time is at hand – What does it mean when something is at hand? It means soon to arrive as in imminent or pending. It means that the time is near.

Genesis 27:41  And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.

Jeremiah 23:23  Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?

Satan does not know when the end will be and neither do you so he always has a great political and military leader, apostate and godless, waiting to be his man whether he be a Genghis Khan, Frederick the Great, a Stalin, or a Hitler. But, Jesus said to His disciples;

John 7:6  Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready.

As we are one heartbeat from eternity so is the world merely a moment away from the beginning of the end. In fact, every generation carries a dress rehearsal, whether it be the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century that killed 20% of the world’s population, the Black Plague of the same era that killed half of Europe, the Thirty Years War in Germany in the seventeenth century that killed one of six Germans, or World War Two which killed sixty million people. We must always be prepared to die or to be translated to Heaven.

Titus 2:11 ¶  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

1Thessalonians 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

The end of human-centered history, as well, is one fearful whisper, one cry of anguish, one spade of dirt thrown on a mass grave away.

From this verse we see three things are asked; to read, to hear, and to keep. These are important points when picking up your Bible and opening it daily. Read, hear, and keep. Guard the word in your heart, follow the word, and stay in the word of God.

Psalm 119:11  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Parents do this when they pray with their children, read the Bible to their children, and live themselves as they want their children to live talking about their faith on a daily basis. Do not let this prophecy, the words of Revelation, go unknown to the next generation. I’m not talking about someone’s opinion of who the Antichrist is or when the translation of the church will take place but what the text actually says.

The book traditionally called The Revelation of St. John the Divine, hereafter called Revelation 1:1-2 comments: my introduction

Why the King James Bible, also known as the Authorized Version, as opposed to more modern versions? 

God gave the Scriptures by inspiration.

2Timothy 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Inspiration gave the men who wrote the Bible understanding, which is wisdom to write what God wanted written but to include their own style, some of their own opinions, and even things that aren’t God’s specific commands but kept in for us to learn from. This is not always word for word dictation.

Job 32:8  But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.

2Peter 3:15  And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;

Romans 15:4  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

God’s hand of inspiration extends not just to the original autographs but translations and copies and as Jesus clarifies God’s commands so can a translation make clearer what He wanted.

Jeremiah 36:32  Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and there were added besides unto them many like words.

From the previous passage you would realize that you do not know nor is it important what the originals said because God wanted us to have the final result. It took about 1500 years with dozens of authors, their secretaries, copyists, and even translators to give us the Bible we have. It took about the same amount of time to perfect and complete that work using copyists, translators, and those faithful to it to give us a perfect and complete Bible to use even though in each generation mankind had the Scripture they needed to sustain them and give them understanding. God’s hand of inspiration is evident throughout. This is because of our sin nature and God working with man’s disposition and with man’s finite understanding to produce what He wanted.The doctrine that God only gave by inspiration the original autographs is as vain and blasphemous a doctrine as the one that insists that your church tradition is equal to the authority of the Scriptures.

Two important events in the history of human thought took place around the time of the publication of the King James Bible. One began in the previous century and was called the Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation, an attempt to overthrow the authority of the Bible in principle, the ones those people had and used before the Authorized Version, which was the foundation of Protestant and other Nonconforming Christian’s worship. The other flowed from it in the following century and was called The Enlightenment, a vain exaltation of man’s reason over God as an ideal. It can be proven, and I have done so to my own satisfaction, that all modern Bible translations flow from these movements. The King James Bible, also known as the Authorized Version, was the last major Bible translation done before these two movements resulted in German theology and rationalism that led to the modern apostasy of the exaltation of reason over revelation and a general Bible illiteracy among Protestant Christians.

God preserved His word through the ages using the mind and hands of fallible men. We should be so grateful that we have more of a revelation, a more complete revelation of God’s will than Job or Moses or Ezekiel had.

Psalm 12:6  The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.7  Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

Psalm 119:89  LAMED. For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

Most fundamentalists believe that God’s word was found only in the original autographs, inerrant and infallible, something which they have never seen and which we cannot examine.

The King James Bible is the true Bible of God and our final authority in all matters of faith, practice, and doctrine. It is there for us to see, to examine, to question, and to study; and like Christ was physically touched by the Apostles we have God’s words to handle and He speaks to us through them. It is the last Bible translation before the victory of the Counter-Reformation, the Enlightenment, and the assault on faith by German rationalism. The final nail in the coffin of understanding was the consequence of scientists like Isaac Newton reducing the God of all reality to simply the God of the First Cause. It was a short step from there to not needing God at all.

One other thing to note is that modern, scientific man is so intent on breaking reality down into its component parts that he has a hard time seeing the beauty of the forest for the trees and even the individual twigs. Let us look at the verses in context and understand metaphors for what they are without creating an entire edifice of meaninglessness that the Holy Spirit never intended.

There are several ways of interpreting The Revelation of Jesus Christ, written under the traditional title of The Revelation of St. John the Divine. But, there are four main views that have been expressed throughout history. They are the idealist where the events here are all just metaphorical referencing some conflict between God and Satan throughout history and are not factual historical or future events. They include the historicist where the events begin at Jerusalem’s fall and chronicle church history. They include the preterist where all of the events of the book happened around AD70. And they include the futurist where these are future events. There is a little bit of all, plus some others, in a proper take on this grand book of the Bible, I believe.

https://probe.org/four-views-of-revelation/

It is possible to take the text of Revelation and divide it into two parts regarding the time of trouble and anguish on the earth. I will look at the events before the translation of the church, commonly called the Rapture, and the events after, as clearly shown in the text and by cross-referencing. What I show you may not necessarily line up with what you and I have been taught. It might but I am sticking as much as I can with the text and cross-referencing. In other words, it says what it says, not what I want it to say.

Before I get into the book let me insert here that Modernism is a heresy that, among its many faults, involves reading the Bible like a textbook or the owner’s manual for your car, cellphone, or computer. It results in a hyper-literalist interpretation of the Bible that clouds much meaning and understanding and the hyper-literalist often takes verses as standalone, out of context, to mean things they were never meant to mean. The Bible is God’s revelation of His ministry of reconciling mankind to Himself. It mentions science, history, geography, and politics but is not a book or collection of books specifically about any of those subjects. In fact, the Holy Spirit often just mentions an important event like Genesis 10:25 in passing. Was it a reference to God dispersing human families across the earth at Babel? Was it the creation of human races from the early human population? Could it have referred to the dividing of the continents?

In the same respect, Alexander the Great, who had such an impact on ancient history, is mentioned perhaps once in Daniel 8:21 with Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius mentioned in Luke 2:1 & 3:1 respectively. These men occupy important places in human history but in God’s Book are of not much more regard than the common, “a certain man,” or, “a certain woman,” of many verses.

But, while the Bible doesn’t answer all of our questions about these topics it does answer what God wanted us to have about His ministry of reconciliation. Think of the Bible as a conversation between your Creator and yourself. There are things He wants you to know and understand and there are things He could not care less about and there are things we could not possibly understand in our finite wisdom. Who knows? There are some things we want to know that might drive us mad to find out.

Deuteronomy 29:29  The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

I want my Creator to speak to me through this book. I do not want to come to it with preconceived notions forcing it to mean things it was never meant to mean damaging my faith when overwhelming evidence shows those preconceived notions are not true. That being said, Revelation, which I will call it, cannot be interpreted, here at the end of the Bible, properly without cross-referencing and considering the entire Bible. So, now, let’s begin our journey understanding that I am just a common, ordinary Christian who happens to find great value in studying and reading the Bible. I am not a Doctor of Divinity, a Doctor of Theology, a seminary trained pastor, nor am I an authority on Greek and Hebrew. I simply can read and understand English and am proficient in using the cross-referencing tab on my computer Bible. I have also read the Bible through over sixty times. I prayerfully ask God to give me understanding and to be able to help others understand what He has given us. I encourage you all to write your own commentary.

1:1 ¶  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: 2  Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

Who was and is Jesus Christ physically? Briefly, I will try to explain.

God is composed of three parts, as man and woman are; a body, a soul, and a spirit.

1Thessalonians 5:23  And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God has a soul, the seat of self-identity and will.

Psalm 11:5  The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.

This is God the Father, sometimes referred to just as God in the New Testament. He is invisible to us. As John says in John 1:18 and in 1John 4:12 no one has seen God, presumably God the Father, at any time. Every act of God’s will originates with Him.

God has a Spirit, how He moves throughout creation and acts on it and in it.

Genesis 1:2  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Romans 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.

This Spirit is called the Holy Ghost, the Comforter.

1Corinthians 12:3  Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

John 14:16  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you…26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

The Holy Spirit in its function, the Holy Ghost in His identity, is the mind of God and also God.

For contexts where the Spirit of God or the spirit of man can be synonymous with mind please see the following;

Romans 8:27  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

1Corinthians 2:16  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

Ephesians 4:23  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

Philippians 1:27  Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

2Timothy 1:7  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

God not only has a soul and a mind but has a body, His person, whom man can see, and has even touched, as God in the flesh, called the Son of God.

Hebrews 1:1 ¶  God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2  Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3  Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Colossians 1: 13  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:14  In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:15  Who is the image of the invisible God…

Of course, an image is the likeness of someone, what he looks like.

Genesis 1:26  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Genesis 5:3  And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:

Exodus 20:4  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

(Refer back to these verses when someone insists that the image of God is man’s ability to discern between good and evil, which is nonsense, as Adam was made in the image of God but did not taste of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil until he fell).

Jesus Christ is also the Word by which all things were created. Read the first 18 verses of the Gospel According to John. God’s mind formed creation and God’s Word spoke it into existence, bringing forth the light, which He is.

Genesis 1:3 ¶  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

One stark difference between man and God is that God’s three parts can act independently of each other and still be one God.

Deuteronomy 6:4  Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

Mark 12:29  And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

Matthew 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

2Corinthians 13:14  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

1John 5:7  For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

God reveals Himself to special select people under the Law and to all believers under Grace.

Amos 3:7  Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

John 14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

(To deny this is to say that the so-called ‘Great Commission’ of the end of Matthew does not apply to every believer but only the Apostles).

What is an angel?

An angel is an appearance of someone or some group of individuals who are somewhere else. It is that person or group’s presence.

Isaiah 63:9  In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

Matthew 18:10  Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

Acts 12:13  And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. 14  And when she knew Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. 15  And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel. 16  But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.

For all intents and purposes it is that individual.

Judges 2:1 ¶  And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.

Judges 13:21  But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD. 22  And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.

Daniel 9:21  Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.

Luke 1:26  And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

Galatians 4:14  And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

Revelation 21:17  And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

Angels are also the spirits of people made perfect and complete by the Lord Jesus Christ, through faith in Him in a spiritual body that can never die.

Hebrews 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

At the end of this chapter angels are the appearance of seven churches.

Verse 2 - John is called to relate all of the things he is about to be told and to see, which he does. You may not understand it all yet and perhaps he didn’t understand everything he saw. But, you are told about it so that when you see it you will know. See Jesus’ talk with his disciples in John 14:29 and 16:25. A prophecy can be given so that when it comes about you will understand it, even if you don’t beforehand.

Luke 24:36-53 comments: the end of Luke's gospel

    24:36 ¶  And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 37  But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. 38  And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? 39  Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. 40  And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. 41  And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? 42  And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. 43  And he took it, and did eat before them. 44  And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. 45  Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, 46  And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47  And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48  And ye are witnesses of these things. 49  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Again, Jesus appears to His followers. Standing in the midst of them He wishes them peace. They are afraid that they are seeing a ghost, the passing figure of someone they loved who was so mercilessly taken from them, of whom they had high expectations. But, Christ points out that He has a physical body that can be touched and can eat with them, a resurrection body.

He again repeats what they have not understood, His mission and the necessity of their Messiah to suffer and die for mankind. It is now their task to preach to people to turn from their sins and be forgiven of them by God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The seal of this command, this commission, will be the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, promised to come on them as they wait in Jerusalem.

Matthew 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Christ gives this command more fully, as reported by Luke in Acts.

Acts 1:1 ¶  The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2  Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: 3  To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: 4  And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5  For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

    6 ¶  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7  And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 9  And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10  And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11  Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Then, the promised gift from heaven that empowered them.

Acts 2:1 ¶  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. [Note the two types of tongues in the context here, one of a form or appearance and one of another discernible human language.]

    24:50 ¶  And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 51  And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. 52  And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: 53  And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

So ends Luke’s Gospel. He will continue his reporting of these historical events in Acts.

Luke 24:13-35 comments: the road to Emmaus

24:13 ¶  And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. 14  And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15  And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. 16  But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. 17  And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? 18  And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? 19  And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: 20  And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. 21  But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. 22  Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; 23  And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had

also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. 24  And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. 25  Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26  Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 27  And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. 28  And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. 29  But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. 30  And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. 31  And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. 32  And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? 33  And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, 34  Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. 35  And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.

A Greek stadion from which the translators used a more common measure to them, a furlong, was 606 feet 9 inches. So threescore or 60 with a score being twenty would equal a journey by foot of a little less than 7 miles.

Verse 21 is another one of those indicators that the Jews were not expecting their Messiah to suffer and die and then be resurrected. They were expecting Him to somehow restore Israel to a position of prominence, free of the yoke of Roman rule. See what they ask the risen Christ in Luke’s book entitled The Acts of the Apostles which we call simply Acts.

Acts 1:6 ¶  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

As I noted previously in my comments on Luke 7 and 18 I read in a study entitled A History of Messianic Speculation in Israel from the First through the Seventeenth Centuries by Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver that there was an expectation of two messiahs at times, one; Messiah ben Joseph and, two; Messiah ben David. One is a conqueror and one suffers for the people of Israel and dies fighting the enemies of God and Israel. Jewish tradition also refers to, “The Four Craftsmen.” The Dead Sea Scrolls also speak of something like a war-messiah from the tribe of Ephraim dated to the first century before Christ, a suffering Messiah, and a priestly Messiah figure. There is some question about when these interpretations came about but it is interesting to consider. All of the prophecies were fulfilled in one man; Jesus Christ.

This makes it quite clear that the Jews, unlike what most evangelical preaching says, were not looking forward to the Cross, the death, burial, and resurrection of their Messiah. They had no clue.

This is reinforced throughout the gospels.

Mark 9:9  And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead. 10  And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean…31  For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day. 32 

But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.

John 20:9  For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

Peter had no previous knowledge or understanding of this prophetic event to come.

Matthew 16:21 ¶  From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. 22  Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23  But he turned, and said

unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

This is why Paul, in his argument with the Jews at Thessalonica had to first teach them from the Old Testament that the Messiah had to suffer and die before he could preach that Jesus was indeed that very Christ.

Acts 17:1 ¶  Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: 2  And Paul, as his manner was, went in

unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, 3  Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and

that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

Again, in his letter to the Hebrews he makes it quite clear in the context of the Old Testament sacrifices in Hebrews 9:23-28 which I will quote fully in a minute.

But, Jesus told them that the things that are about to happen to Him were written of in the books by the Prophets. First, there is the most famous passage in Isaiah 52:13 through 53:12.

Also regard this important prophecy made by Abraham just before a ram is found in a thicket for his sacrifice in place of his own son.

Genesis 22:8  And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

The entire Psalm 22, the first verse of which Jesus quoted from the Cross, is a prophecy of Christ. There are many others. Notice this reference in Hosea.

Hosea 6:2  After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

I could go on from the Prophet Moses spoke of in Deuteronomy 18 and referenced in Acts 3 through Job’s acknowledgement in Job 19 that he would see his Redeemer, who is God, in the flesh in the latter days though Job’s own body was consumed away. But, what is clear is that the Jews did not get it, did not understand what was to happen. Don’t think badly of them as I recently spoke to a person who considers themselves to be a Christian and is active in their church who did not know that Jesus quoted the first verse of Psalm 22 from the Cross. There seemed to be no clear teaching on the Messiah to come in first-century Judea. Tying together all of the threads of the Old Testament regarding the Jewish Messiah was left up to Christ before His Crucifixion and after His Resurrection as in Luke 24 here on the road to Emmaus.

They thought the Christ would come as a king first and this is what Satan was trying to accomplish in His temptation of Christ in chapter four, trying to get Jesus to take the Crown before the Cross and subvert His mission. Here is another verse about His suffering.

Zechariah 12:10  And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

But from the time of Christ’s birth even to His execution the powers that be even referred to Him as being a king, which in the first place greatly concerned them and in the latter gave them a source of spite at the Jews and mockery. First, Herod the Great.

Matthew 2:1 ¶  Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2  Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 3  When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 5  And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 6  And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

Then, at the end, Roman governor Pontius Pilate.

Mark 15:9  But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews?

The people, at points, wanted to make Jesus king.

John 6:15  When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

Even after His Resurrection His disciples wondered when He would restore Israel’s lost glory.

Before, though, Christ assumes the role of a king over a physical kingdom He must suffer for the sins of the world. His disciples did not understand this. As Paul will say;

Hebrews 9:23 ¶  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 

For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: 25  Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; 26  For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

These disciples report back to the eleven remaining Apostles what they have seen and how the risen Christ revealed Himself to them. Again, we have one of the great statements of the Bible we should remember at all times, The Lord is risen indeed. It is on this statement of fact that our faith is based. Without it, Christianity is just another philosophy as people like the news commentator Bill O’Reilly appears to believe, that Christianity is just a philosophy and that there is no need to believe that Jesus was God in the flesh as the Scriptures insist.

Luke 23:50-24:12 comments: burial and resurrection

23:50 ¶  And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just: 51  (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God. 52  This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. 53  And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. 54  And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on. 55  And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. 56  And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

Joseph of Arimathea, whom Matthew reported was a disciple of Jesus, not only is featured notably in all four Gospels at Christ’s crucifixion making himself responsible for Christ’s burial but there are extra-Biblical myths about him that are interesting. Several legends began to arise about him as early as the second century and eventually he became a part of Britain’s legend of King Arthur as the first keeper of the Holy Grail. Christ would not be placed in a family tomb with the remains of other deceased persons as was customary.

There is a prophecy in Isaiah 53 of note that may hint at Joseph of Arimathaea’s involvement here.

Isaiah 53:9  And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Verse 51 seems to indicate that he was part of the counsel that condemned Christ but was against that condemnation.

Chapter 24

24:1 ¶  Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. 2  And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. 3  And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. 4  And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 5  And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? 6  He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7  Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. 8  And they remembered his words, 9  And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. 10  It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. 11  And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. 12  Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

The women who ministered to Jesus and the Apostles came to the tomb on the first day of the week, our Sunday, early in the morning. This is indeed the time that early Christians would worship, before going about their daily labors. Sunday was not a day off for 300 years after Christ’s resurrection. They brought spices to prepare the body of Christ, having had to refrain on the Sabbath.

We get an indication here of first-century burial practices in Judea, such as placing the body in a rock-hewn tomb and packing spices around it to inhibit the smell of decaying flesh.

Jesus was hurriedly placed in the tomb, the sepulcher, due to the approaching Sabbath. Some scholars write that a typical Jewish burial was done in two phases. The first, where the body was laid in the tomb and prepared with spices, wrapped, and placed in the tomb, and the second, much later, when the bones of the deceased were placed in a separate container called an ossuary. Christ’s resurrection would prevent this from happening. Of course, the poorest people would not have this kindness visited on them as ground burials were not uncommon.

The stone that was placed in front of the tomb was rolled away. Matthew 27 is more detailed in giving the significance of this stone to keep the disciples from stealing Jesus’ body and the reference to the temple guard or Roman soldiers guarding it.

Matthew 27:57 ¶  When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple: 58  He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. 59  And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60  And laid it in his own new tomb, which he

had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. 61  And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre. 62  Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, 63  Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. 64  Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. 65  Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. 66  So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

Jesus’ body is gone and two men stand there in shining clothing and they ask one of the great questions of the Bible; why seek ye the living among the dead? They continue with another wonderful declaration for the ages; He is not here, but is risen. These supernatural figures from the other side, the spirit world, in shining clothing remind Jesus’ followers that He told them these events would take place.

The women run and tell the Apostles who do not believe them. Peter runs to the tomb and sees the burial clothes of Jesus neatly folded and no sign of Him. He doesn’t understand. Again, this shows that the Jews were not looking forward to the Cross as many evangelicals say. They had no clue in spite of being told over and over by Christ Himself of these events.