The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

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Who is God? If you ask ten people, you can get ten different answers and in today’s ecumenical world some would even say they’re all right and there are multiple ways to see God. How we define God is a foundation of how we define ourselves. It would be ridiculous for me to claim a complete definition here by any means of who God is because no web page can fully describe God. Even with all knowledge of man we have a limited understanding. I believe God exists in dimensions higher than we can perceive and just as a 2-dimensional being would have a hard time wrapping their head around a 3-dimensional existence, so too will we be unable to fully understand a God who exists outside of the time and space in which we are limited to.

However we have a foundation from which we can begin understand the core of who God is by who He says He is. It is a means of communicating who God is to those whose minds are limited in comprehending Him. My source of understanding comes from the Bible and without this foundation of God defining for me who He is I would probably have ten different answers myself.

To be clear, I do not subscribe to the belief that there are many paths to God. I believe the Bible is the Word of God and our only true foundation. Many men have tried to add to it or come up with their own beliefs, but this site is focused on the God of the Bible.

2 Timothy 3:15-17
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Every person falls into one of two camps, either humankind and the universe in which we live were created by an immeasurably intelligent and powerful Creator or random chance and macroevolution from one kind to another brought us to the point we are at today. While this is a big debate in the world today, this page focuses on the belief in a Creator and is my answer to who God is.

For those who are in the evolution camp, I encourage you to examine the page focused on that debate and the reasons I do not hold this belief - Intelligent Design vs. Macroevolution. For those who believe in a Creator, yet debate who this is or why I hold the Bible as a valid source for defining who God is, please examine the page focused on The Bible: Trusting the Source.

From the Biblical perspective defining who God is can be somewhat confusing at first because He has revealed Himself in three ways, but ultimately God defines Himself as simply - Love. 1 John 4:7-21 Being created in God’s image, we can associate with God by the way He has presented Himself to us. The question is, why not just show Himself outright to us rather than through the thousands of years of glimpses? This brings us to the fundamental problem facing humanity, the fall.

Originally God created man and woman and they were in direct relationship with their Creator and knew Him face to face. In the beginning they were innocent, not knowing the difference between good and evil. Good is defined by the characteristics of the Creator. It is the Creator who designed the creation for His purposes just like a watchmaker designs a watch to tell time. Evil is simply defined as that which is not good. This is why God, being good, cannot be evil because evil is whatever is not of God. So it is that sin is transgression from God’s ways of love, in our fallen state, we enact evil when we are in opposition to God.

Not knowing good from evil, Adam and Eve had no separation from God. God did not want mindless servant robots out of His creation, and so we were created in the image of God with free will, the choice to obey God or not and with that the responsibility for the consequences of our choices. God warned them of one fruit in the garden of Eden that they were not to eat from and told them the consequences of doing so would be death, this was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Deceived into eating it when the serpent called God’s Word into question, Eve and then Adam both ate and their eyes were opened. From this choice they and all their offspring then have been suffering the consequences of using their free will to disobey God. They sinned and from that point humanity has been separated from their Creator by their sin.

This is all important because our choice to align ourselves with God or not determines our eternal destination. Who we are is not defined by our physical bodies, but rather by our mind, our spirits dwelling within these “temples,” or bodies. What kind of spirit, or person, we are is expressed to the world through the use of our bodies for communication with each other. Who we are does not die with our bodies, rather it is either reunited with God forever or it is not. That is completely up to each of us individually.

So who is God, how does He define and reveal himself to us? This is important in determining whether you want to be with Him forever or not. There are some who willingly desire to be separate from Him because He has standards, but I want to share Biblically just what those standards are and how they express God’s heart of Love. One example is the Law, which I call shadows of Love. So who is God? Let’s take Him at His Word.

One God

There is only one God, but part of the unfathomable nature of God are the details from scripture that paint a more complex picture of the identity of God.

Deuteronomy 6:1-5
Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Isaiah 9:6,7
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

John 10:27-33
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

Here we see that Isaiah prophesied the Messiah to be the mighty God, the everlasting Father and Yeshua later stated that He and the Father were one.

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. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Here we see the spirit of God and Christ in us, a combination of what is elsewhere referred to as the Holy Spirit in conjunction with that of God and Christ. And again Yeshua combines the Father, Himself and the Holy Spirit when speaking of our relationship with God.

John 14:16-23
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [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. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I [am] in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

1 John 5:1-13
Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

We know who someone is by the way that they act, what someone believes and what someone does defines that person. God is no different, God is defined by His actions and His Word. He defines Himself for us from the history of His interaction with mankind as laid out in the Bible. These are His actions and the Spirit of God is described in great detail for us.

It’s also important to understand the difference between the spiritual and the material, this is the meat and milk of the Word. My take is that thought is the voice of the spirit realm. When we receive in God’s Word by reading the Bible, we gain insight into our real existence as spiritual beings dwelling in temples of flesh. In this way, we can see how the Spirit of God is always the same and is One. Manifest in the flesh by Yeshua, it is the full thoughts of God, the wholeness of Him, and direct connection with the Father. What the Father is, Yeshua is. We have the Holy Spirit that dwells within us upon believing in Yeshua. This is our Comforter, who teaches us and instructs us in all things God has said, our conscience of sorts.

So the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one in the same in thought, action and deed. Yeshua said in seeing Him we saw the Father because He only did His Father’s work. He was in all ways the same as His heavenly Father except that He is a distinct entity apart from His Father.

An analogy would be the difference between a program and the physical media on which it is written. A CD-ROM disc is a good example. You can have two physically different discs, but if you put the exact same information on both, how are they different except that there are two? Regardless of which one you place in the computer, you will get the exact same result, they are one in the same yet distinct. If you go buy two of the same movie on DVD or Blu-ray and put each one in the player, the same content will be there, but they are different physical discs.

The Holy Trinity

In the previous look at there being just one God that it is clarified also that Yeshua is God and speaks of Himself as separate yet part of the Father and Spirit.

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

The following list of scriptures were taken from a debate on the Trinity being consistent with the Old Testament with Jonathan McLatchie and Yusuf Ismail. The Hebrew word for “one” in the above passage is Echad and can refer to a composite unity as seen in the following passages that also use this word.

• Genesis 1:5 - The yom echad (first day) is a combination of two things, the evening and the morning.
• Genesis 2:24 - Adam and Eve became l-visar echad (one flesh).
• Genesis 3:22 - Adam and Eve became “one” (echad) with God.
• Genesis 11:6 - The people were one (echad).
• Genesis 34:16,22 - The Shechemites wanted to become “one people” (l-’am echad) with the Jews.
• 2 Chronicles 30:12 - God gave the people “one heart” (lev echad).
• Ezra 2:64 - The “congregation” (kol-haqahal) of forty two thousand, three hundred and sixty persons was described as “one” (k-echad).
• Jeremiah 32:39 - Under the New Covenant, God will give His people “one heart” (lev echad).

Isaiah 48:11-17
For mine own sake, [even] for mine own sake, will I do [it]: for how should [my name] be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another. Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I [am] he; I [am] the first, I also [am] the last. Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: [when] I call unto them, they stand up together. All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these [things]? The LORD hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm [shall be on] the Chaldeans. I, [even] I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous. Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there [am] I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me. Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I [am] the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way [that] thou shouldest go.

Isaiah 44:6
Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I [am] the first, and I [am] the last; and beside me [there is] no God.

Dr. Michael Heiser posted an excerpt from J. C. O’Neill’s scholarly book, Who Did Jesus Think He Was? (Brill, 1995), the chapter entitled, “The Trinity and the Incarnation as Jewish Doctrines.” Jews before Jesus were thinking in trinitarian terms, that the one God of Israel was also three, and that God would become human and die for sin as messiah.

Isaiah 11:1-2
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

In the Old Testament passage above, the idea of the Trinity is represented in that the Messiah, from the stem of Jesse would have the spirit of the Father resting on Him, the merging of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 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.

2 Corinthians 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.

And quite simply we can see this evidenced in the baptism that started Yeshua’s ministry.

Luke 3:21-22
Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

This passage alone shows evidence of the Trinity in that Yeshua (1) was being baptized when the Holy Ghost (2) descended on Him as a dove and the Father (3) spoke from heaven. These were three distinct individual entities at the same point in space-time making themselves known as distinct.

John 10:27-30
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father's hand. I and [my] Father are one.

So while distinct, all three are the same Spirit, always in agreement with each other. Our technological age presents a way to perceive this I believe.

Computer code is arranged in such a way that a program can be run and has a purpose, this would be like the spirit. You could install this on several different computers and no matter what, the code would operate the same way on all of them. Each computer is separate and distinct, but with the same code installed on them, they would effectively function the same exact way even though they were distinct.

This of course is not to compare the Trinity to software other than to present the concept of different but the same another way. Our God is relational, within the Trinity the Father stands as the head, the Son willingly subservient for the purpose of becoming sin for us so that the wages of sin would not remove us from their presence forever. The Spirit of God then dwells within us so that we are in relationship with Yeshua and the Father in Spirit and Truth until the day we all meet face to face. When we are reunited in eternity with God as originally intended, we will all be one big eternal family. The earthly family structure was also intended to mirror this as another way for us to understand the heart and Spirit of God better.

Father | Son (first coming) (second coming) | Holy Spirit
The LORD Is One

YAHWEH - God the Father

YAHWEH is the giver of power and light as the Father is head of the house, so our heavenly Father is the head of all that is. Just as an earthly father gives to his son what he has, so our heavenly Father has given all to His only begotten Son. In fact, our relationship with the Father is only through our relationship with His Son until that time we are all together in heaven.

John 3:16-19
For God [the Father] so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, [Yeshua] that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

John 6:44
No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Luke 11:11-13
If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

The Bible is repleat with foreshadows and symbology pointing to the relationship between the Father and Son. The story of God telling Abraham to kill his only son was meant as a foreshadow for the ultimate fulfillment of God sending His only Son who would willingly give His life as atonement for the sin of mankind. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness.

Genesis 17:4-7, 15-19, 21
As for me, behold, my covenant [is] with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. ...  And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah [shall] her name [be]. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be [a mother] of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall [a child] be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, [and] with his seed after him. ... But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

God had promised Abraham that Isaac would be the child through which his seed would be like the stars of heaven. The reason God loved Abraham was that he had faith in God, trusted His Word. This is why when Isaac asked where the sacrifice was, Abraham replied as he did.

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.

Abraham believed God and indeed God did provide Himself a lamb both then and when Yeshua offered Himself as the spotless lamb to cover the sin of the world.

YAHWEH, which is YHVH in Hebrew, or יְהוָֹה and is also translated at LORD or Jehovah is the proper name of God, also called the Tetragrammaton. It’s commonly accepted meaning is the existing One, but it's also an amazing tie in to Yeshua and His sacrifice covered below.

Yeshua - Only Begotten Son

John 14:6,7
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

The name יֵשׁוּעַ (Yeshua) appears multiple times in Ezra and Nehemiah and once in each of the books of Chronicles. In the English, you can usually find it as “Jeshua.” To arrive at the correct pronunciation, however, you have to accept the Masoretic vowel pointings. The name begins with a י (yud), which carries with it the sound of our English “Y.” The vowel point associated with the yud is the ֵ (tsere), which makes the vowel sound “eh” in sephardic/modern Hebrew (“ey” in Ashkenaz). So the first sound is יֵ “yeh.”

The second letter is the שׁ (shin), which makes the “sh” sound. The שׁ is followed by a ו (vav) with the וּ (shuruk) pointing, which makes an “oo” sound. (The ו alone makes a “v” sound, but when it appears as וּ the ו functions as a vowel.) Together, יֵשׁוּ makes the sound “yeh-shoo.”

The final letter is the ע (ayin). By itself, the ע is a silent letter, however, it appears as עַ with the ַ (patakh) vowel pointing, which adds the “ah” sound to the letter.

Together, the three syllables of יֵשׁוּעַ are pronounced “yeh-shoo-ah.” We transliterate this in English as “Yeshua.” In Hebrew Yeshua means both “Salvation,” and the concatenated form of Yahoshua, the “LORD who is Salvation.”

The name is equivalent to Joshua and there’s an interesting parallel Chuck Missler gets into regarding the Joshua that conquered Jericho and Canaan. Also read MY KING by Chuck Missler.

Are Father and Son separate?

Proverbs 30:1-4
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, [even] the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal, Surely I [am] more brutish than [any] man, and have not the understanding of a man. I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy. Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what [is] his name, and what [is] his son’s name, if thou canst tell?

1 Corinthians 8:5,6
For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

John 3:16-19
For God [the Father] so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, [Yeshua] that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

John 8:49-58
Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth. Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

John 10:27-38
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

Acts 17:22-31
Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

I think it’s pretty clear just from these few scriptures that YAHWEH the Father and Yeshua the Son are separate entities, yet Yeshua even states that they are one. We see in another example where Yeshua confounds the Pharisees quoting Psalms 110:1.

Matthew 22:41-46
While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, [The Son] of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD [YAHWEH] said unto my Lord [Adonai (master)], Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any [man] from that day forth ask him any more [questions].

He was making the point that the Christ was not the son of David, but rather God’s son, again distinguishing between the two. God the Father was saying to king David’s master to sit at his right hand. David wouldn’t call his son Lord.

What Has He Done?

Yeshua: Creator of the Universe

John 1:1-14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made 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.

This passage clarifies that the Word (logos) was with God and was God. Logos in Greek means something said, including the thought - also reasoning or motive. We know that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth speaking them into existence. It is clear from the passage above that Yeshua created the world into which He came to save the lost. This passage equates the Word of God with the Creator of the world and with Yeshua, the only begotten Son of God.

God’s intentions and motives existed prior to and outside of His creation, with a particular plan and design for that creation. The physical Bible didn’t yet exist, but God’s design that the Bible relays always did. That ultimate design was the creation of man in His image, the redemption of man who applied their free will to follow after His Spirit, and the expression of His character in the selfless sacrifice of His only begotten Son for the redemption of man. This Son, Yeshua existed prior to being born of a virgin by the Holy Spirit.

John 17:1-8
These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

Yeshua: Savior of Mankind (First Coming)

Matthew 1:20-23
But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

The most intriguing perspective I’ve heard is that Yeshua was born of Mary on Tishri 1, 3 B.C., which translates to September 11, 3 B.C. This is based off the work of Ernest L. Martin in his book The Star of Bethlehem: The Star That Astonished the World that you can read or listen to free at that link. There is also a recent documentary called The Star of Bethlehem that holds a similar view with more visual appeal and a date of September 11, 3 B.C. for the conception and June 17, 2 B.C., 9 months later, for the birth of the Messiah. Then, looking South from Jerusalem from November 5, 2 B.C. to February 19, 1 B.C., Jupiter was in retrograde and so remained in the sky to the South. On December 25, 2 B.C. Jupiter was in retrograde and so appeared to hover over the town of Bethlehem.

Below is episode 138 of The Naked Bible Podcast where Dr. Michael Heiser goes through some of the reasoning behind this date. He also has a blog post, September 11: Happy Birthday to Jesus.

I recently did my own study on Passover and the timing of the crucifixion that concluded the last supper was after dusk on 14 Abib/Nisan (April 5, 30 AD) and the crucifixion was that day on 14 Abib/Nisan (April 6, 30 AD). I still need to work on reconciling the above date with Luke 3:23 stating that “Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age” at His baptism when His ministry began, but it may just be that the fall of 4 BC was His birth year.

Luke 3:1 places the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry and therefor Yeshua’s as well “in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar.” There is also some nuace to when Tiberias gained his authority and how that might be viewed differently from a Jewish perspective in this interesting article that focuses on Luke’s Historiography.

“In sum, the significance of the 15th year of Tiberius given in Luke 3:1 is its specific connection to the start of the ministry of John the Baptist. We know that Christ was baptized prior to the Passover recorded in John 2:13, and a baptism during winter or early spring is less likely due to chilly weather. Moreover, time was needed prior to His first Passover to deal with the 40-day fast and other things. Therefore, we conclude that Jesus was most likely baptized in the early fall of AD 27. This synchronizes perfectly with the AD 30 Crucifixion our previous studies showed was most likely, and requires no conjectural padding of the timeline. It is consistent with the practical approach of Luke to dating things that we saw in his mention of both Annas and Caiaphas as high priests. The plain sense of Scripture in Acts and Galatians is also allowed to stand as written, rather than being subjected to awkward alternative interpretations to force it to fit with an AD 33 Crucifixion.” | Associates for Biblical Research

If His birth was on September 11, 3 B.C. and his ministry started in the fall of 27 A.D., that would make His age about 29 years.

Revelation 12:1-5
And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and [to] his throne.

This passage is tied to Israel being the woman that gives birth to the Messiah. In Genesis 37:9-11, Joseph has a dream that the sun moon and 11 stars bowed down to him. Jacob (Israel) interpreted that dream to mean that he, Joseph’s mother and 11 brothers would all bow to him. Therefore, the symbology of the sun, moon and stars in Revelation 12 would identify the woman with Israel from whom the child is born. Psalms 2:6-12 further identifies that child to be the LORD’s only begotten Son who the Father gives the whole earth for a possession.

What is fascinating about the studies linked above are the matching signs in the heavens where Jupiter, the king planet, in retrograde motion provided some celestial events that would have caught the eye of those looking at the time, such as the wise men from Babylon, perhaps descendants of those magi that followed Daniel hundreds of years earlier.

So He was born over 2,000 years ago, coming the first time to take the sins of the world on himself as the perfect and sinless sacrifice. He showed the greatest love by giving His life for His friends. He has given His life willingly so that you and I can be forgiven of our sins and spend eternity in His presence, the only place where love and life exist. Luke 24:34-47

Why Become a Man?

So we see above that the Father begat His Son through Mary out of the nation of Israel whom He called out of the nations to be a peculiar people. In what the world today would see as peculiarities, we see foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice that would be the only path to reconciliation with God by Him remaining just and keeping His holiness, but also providing a covering and forgiveness for His creation.

Throughout man’s time on earth, sacrifices have been given to God. With Cain and Abel, God preferred the offering of the firstlings of Abel’s flock over the fruit of the ground brought by Cain, the first foreshadow of shedding of blood. It was the jealousy that seems to have led to the first recorded murder and the curse of Cain. And indeed it followed when God tested Abraham to sacrifice his only son foreshadowing God giving His only Son as a sacrifice for humanity.

Hebrews 9:1-10 speaks to the divine service and offerings that followed with the Mosaic covenant. The high priest would enter the holy of holies once a year with blood to sprinkle on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant and elsewhere. This was also a foreshadowing, imposed on Israel until the time of reformation in the new covenant.

Leviticus 17:11
For the life of the flesh [is] in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it [is] the blood [that] maketh an atonement for the soul.

Early in Israel’s relationship with God He said what He would do, “I have given it [my blood] upon the alter to make atonement for your souls” a millennia before it happened.

Hebrews 9:11-28
But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption [for us]. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions [that were] under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament [is], there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament [is] of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. Whereupon neither the first [testament] was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, Saying, This [is] the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. [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. 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: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; 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. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 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.

So the Law, the old covenant, and the blood of animal sacrifices couldn’t save anyone and never did. These were neither eternal nor were they a sacrifice for sin but rather a foreshadow of God’s plan played out by His people as a witness to what was to come and a form of ritual sanctification in spite of sin. But only an eternal being who could shed His blood and die could succeed in propitiating God and fulfill the covenants guaranteeing eternal life. Yeshua was the fulfillment of the law, the perfect image of the mind and will of God.

So how can an eternal being die? This is why the incarnation is essential to salvation. Yeshua was born of a virgin, having a heavenly Father and not an earthly one, the only begotten Son of God. Yeshua created the universe, being above all beings and one of the Godhead.

Hebrews 2:5-13
For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing [that is] not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom [are] all things, and by whom [are] all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified [are] all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.

And so Yeshua, in being born a man, was made lower than the angels and given the temptations of fallen man yet living a perfect life such that the immortal God could die, once and for all, in a sacrifice worthy to cover the sins that separated man from his Creator. That is why Yeshua had to become a man, because God is love and He loves you.

John 15:12-14
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

Fingerprints of prophetic fulfillment

Fingerprints identify each particular person by the unique pattern on the tips of the finger. Old Testament prophecies work as fingerprints because they were written long before their fulfillment. In the case of Christ, these prophecies were written of Him and hundreds were fulfilled by Him in His first coming. There are hundreds more yet to be fulfilled by Him in the end times. The fulfillment of these prophecies by Yeshua identify Him as the promised Messiah written of by the prophets of the Old Testament. If fulfillment in the past points to future fulfillment coming to pass, we can expect the same precision.

At the same time, those prophecies already fulfilled identify Yeshua as the Messiah. Given the importance of this, I wish to cover some of those fulfilled prophecies here. That one man could fulfill hundreds of diverse prophecies is a testimony to Him being who He says He is. Many of these prophecies, such as the location of His birth, were outside of His control as just a man and when put together define Him as prophesied, matching the fingerprint defined by the prophets hundreds and thousands of years before. But He is not just a man as I pray this website will assist in discovering if you have not already. Most importantly, read the Bible and discover the details from His Word for yourself. Acts 17:11

• Messiah will be born of a virgin
• Messiah will be born in Bethlehem
• Messiah will be called Immanuel
• Messiah will be a prophet
• Messiah’s ministry begins in Galilee
• Messiah will perform miracles
• Messiah will rise from the dead
• Messiah will be betrayed by a friend
• Messiah will die a violent death
• Messiah’s hands and feet will be pierced
• 324 Messianic Prophecies

Yahweh (YHVH)

I recently came across something in a video from Rock Island Books on YouTube, and later found elsewhere here and I’m sure there are other places, that I hadn’t ever heard before that I think fits well here as we transition to looking at the Son, Yeshua. YAHWEH, which is YHVH in Hebrew, or יְהוָֹה and is also translated at LORD or Jehovah is the proper name of God, also called the Tetragrammaton. It’s commonly accepted meaning is the existing One.

What is fascinating is that all Hebrew letters have names and meanings and numbers associated with them. It is also a pictographic language such that the original shapes also coincided with the letter’s meaning. We get our term alphabet from the first and second letters of the Hebrew alphabet, Aleph (א) Beth (ב ).

י Yod (Yud) - denotes the hand/arm, typically not as outstretched, but rather as holding something or being a fist.

ה He (Hay) -  lo! behold!

ו Waw (Vav) -   hook or peg, and is strictly reserved for the hooks/ pegs that kept the curtains of the tabernacle in place.

ה He (Hay) -  lo! behold!

Exodus 26:31-34
And thou shalt make a vail [of] blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made: And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim [wood] overlaid with gold: their hooks (vav) [shall be of] gold, upon the four sockets of silver. And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy [place] and the most holy. And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy [place].

As Israel was in the wilderness, their tabernacle’s walls and framework were held together with hooks, supporting the structure. It was this support that then held the veil that separated the Holy of Holies, where the presense of God dwelt, from the Holy Place, the tabernacle and the people of Israel camped about it.

Recall also that Israel had just come out of Egypt, where the first Passover happened and the blood of the lamb was placed on the door of the houses of the Israelites so the angel of death would pass over the house and not take the first born son of the house.

John 10:7-11
Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

Yeshua is the door and as stated in John 14:6-7 He is the only way to the Father. If you did not already catch it above, the Hebrew name of God that they don’t say today, yet is published for all time in the Torah, has 4 letters that individually mean behold the hand/arm/strength, behold the nail/peg/hook!

Matthew 27:50-51
Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

Mark 15:37-39
And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

Luke 23:44-47
And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.

Yeshua is the door through which we find salvation and a return to communion with the Father through the atoning blood of Christ. He is the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world and sacrificed Himself, spilling His innocent blood so that we might live.

The strength and power of God to defeat death and provide a way back to relationship with Him was shown when Yeshua died on the cross. He hung on a tree by nails in the wrists as the veil hung in the temple on pegs as a door separating the people from the presence of God. When it was finished and He gave up the ghost, His symbolic representation as the door was further highlighted when the veil separating the Holy of Holies and presence of God from the people of Israel was rent in two from top to bottom. I believe this both signified that the new door was the only one now needed to enter into God’s presence and also that God’s presence would no longer reside in the temple, it was finished. Going forward, the Spirit of God would reside in our temples with those who accept the sacrifice and obey. More detail here.

Yeshua: Returning King (Second Coming)

John 14:1-3
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Before He left, Yeshua promised that He would come again to gather those that love Him to Himself. Israel is the apple (lens) of God’s eye and also the key to understanding God’s prophetic plans that He told us He would let us know about. Our understanding was only sealed up to the end, and while we don’t know the day or hour of His coming, God promised we would not be in darkness about it. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

John 16:1-11
These things [John 15] have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you. But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

This is the importance of understanding Bible prophecy, because we’re waiting for His return! He’s given us detailed information in the Bible about these coming times for a reason, and there are growing reasons to believe we’re the generation to see it come to pass!

Part of the reason the nation of Israel did not see their Messiah 2,000 years ago was because they were focused on the conquering king, overlooking the prophecies of the humble, suffering servant. These prophecies were all about the same Messiah, but they spoke of two different times He would come. First as the suffering servant to die for the sins of mankind and second as the conquering king to take the kingdoms of the world and rule with a rod of iron.

Just as this phased approach to presenting the Messiah to the world was written into the prophecies, so too do I believe that the Messiah’s second coming is split into two phases. And just as all the prophecies of the Messiah seemed to have some distinct differences because they were talking of different times in our temporal history, so too do the prophecies of His second coming have some distinct differences that highlight a separation of time between their occurrence.

1) Coming With Sudden Destruction To Gather His Bride

Part of what brought me to my pre-wrath view were the promises to be saved from the wrath of God and the apparent dual nature of the Day of the Lord. For both Christ’s coming and the destruction, it comes suddenly at a day and hour we don’t know.

Matthew 24:36-39
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Luke 17:28-30
Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

The flood was the destruction of God’s wrath that came suddenly and unexpectedly. When Christ first comes, it is with sudden destruction beginning the day of the Lord and bringing the wrath of God on the children of disobedience that dwell on the face of the earth. Ephesians 5:1-8 Just like at the time of Noah and of Lot, Luke 17:26-33, the majority of the world will be completely caught off-guard by the sudden destruction that comes with Christ.

But we are not children of darkness, but of light and God promised that He would tell His friends, those that obey Him, what He is doing. John 15:13-16 For these, His bride, He is coming again to gather us and we will escape the wrath because we are not children of disobedience. Luke 17:34-37 And just as God told Abraham in Genesis 18:17-33 that He will not send His wrath on the righteous, neither will the day of the Lord come before He gathers His bride from the earth. Since it is coming on all them that dwell on the whole earth, the righteous (made so only by accepting the sacrifice of Yeshua on the cross for the remission of sins) must be removed prior to it’s arrival.

Luke 21:34-36
And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Revelation 7:9-17 points out this very group in heaven standing before the throne and before the Lamb before the wrath of God begins in Revelation 8 with the trumpets. That this wrath is for the children of disobedience and the seat of the antichrist, Revelation 16, then it follows that this cannot be when Christ returns in glory at Armageddon because that is what ends the 3½-year reign of the antichrist for whom God’s wrath is for.

Revelation 3:10-11
Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

We are also told that those who keep God’s Word will also be kept from the hour of temptation. If you think about the three temptations Yeshua resisted prior to His ministry, it was basically food, safety and power.

Regarding His physical hunger, He rebuked the devil and said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

When tempted to jump from the pinnacle of the temple, quoting the Word of God reasoning that the angels would save him from death, He rebuked him saying, “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”

When offered all the kingdoms of the world if He would only worship the devil, He rebuked him saying, “it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

Perhaps this gives us a view of what the hour of temptation is all about. During the time of the reign of the antichrist, we’re given a view in Revelation 13 of what life under the dragon, from whom the antichrist gets his power. The infamous mark of the beast, a guaranteed second eternal death, is required to buy or sell. All are demanded to worship the beast on pain of death. So the hour of tempation could very well be the time the earth is both tempted to reject God and eternal life for temporal life and the wrath of God is poured out on the children of disobedience. Ephesians 5:1-16 | Colossians 3:1-17

So we have these promises to be kept from the hour of temptation and from the wrath of God that is coming on all them who dwell on the earth. Logically, if we’re to escape God’s wrath and stand before the Son of Man and His wrath will be poured out over the next 3 1/2 years or so, He obviously is not taking the kingdoms and we are not reigning on the earth with Him yet. This doesn’t happen until the 3 1/2 year reign of the man of sin is completed. Revelation 13:5

Yet we know that there are distinct prophecies speaking of His return to earth where He will defeat and cast the antichrist and false prophet into the lake of fire and lock away the dragon for 1,000 years. This means there are two separate times when Yeshua comes to the earth from His Father’s house. First to gather his Bride to the marriage, Matthew 25:1-15, and again with His wife to begin His rule on the earth.

2) Coming In Glory To Take The Kingdoms Of Earth Followed By His Wife

Revelation 19:7-14
Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

Here we can see that the bride of Christ, now the wife, is returning with Christ following the marriage of the Lamb. I also believe that the angels will be returning with them as well. The wife is given to wear a particular attire signifying the righteousness of the saints that is seen on the army returning with Christ.

So the bride of Christ, who is not appointed to God’s wrath “coming on all them that dwell on the whole earth,” escapes earth at the harpazo to attend the marriage of the Lamb in heaven while God’s wrath is poured out on those who refused to humble themselves and accept Yeshua’s sacrifice to save them too from their sins. Christ is only going to marry those who love Him and show it by their obedience. John 14,15

Once the marriage and wrath are over, Christ, followed by His wife and 10s of thousands of His angels, will return in glory and Yeshua Himself will defeat the armies at Har Megiddo gathered at the 6th bowl. After that point the dead in Christ from after the resurrection/harpazo of the bride of Christ will be resurrected, this is the first resurrection.

Click image for Bible study on the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls

Daniel 7:13-14
I saw in the night visions, and, behold, [one] like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion [is] an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom [that] which shall not be destroyed.

Should we worship Yeshua?

Matthew 18:16-20
Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

In the Greek, the word worship is proskuneō, meaning prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore). It is clear that Yeshua didn’t stop those worshipping Him. Indeed it is His sacrifice that has saved us from eternal separation from God and Himself. Personally I believe that deserves our reverence and adoration prostrate before Him. Who He is is one in the same with Who our heavenly Father is. Everything that we have is because Yeshua made it and has been given all power over it. I don’t worship Yeshua over the Father, but rather as part of worshipping my heavenly Father, who sent His only Son to save me and whose Son chose to make that sacrifice for my sake and yours.

Do you have doubts as to Yeshua being who He said He was? If you’re truly interested in the answers, I would recommend reading Lee Strobel’s book, The Case For Christ. He has also produced a DVD, which you can purchase here, addressing the contents of the book, which is his research as an atheist who came to accept Christ.

Ruach HaKodesh - The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is a divine person in the Old Testament and being greived or vexed shows personal agency and He imparts wisdom, among other things.

Isaiah 63:10
But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, [and] he fought against them.

Isaiah 11:1-2
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

The Holy Spirit also inspires the scriptures.

2 Samuel 23:2
The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word [was] in my tongue.

Zechariah 7:12
Yea, they made their hearts [as] an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.

Nehemiah 9:30
Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands.

The Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is the Spirit of God, His character that indwells all those who believe and accept Yeshua’s sacrifice and turn from their sins toward God.

Matthew 1:20-23
But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Luke 3:21-23
Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph,...

John 14:25-31
These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 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. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.

Matthew 3:11
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

Acts 2:1-4
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Luke 12:10
And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth [speaks evil against] against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.

1 Corinthians 2:9-13
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

The Holy Spirit does the following in scripture:

• creates Job 33:4 | Psalm 104:30
• omnipresent Psalm 139:7
• relays to us God’s Word 1 Thessalonians 1:5
• baptizes us Matthew 3:11 | Mark 1:8 | Luke 3:16 | John 1:33 | Acts 1:5 | Acts 10:38 | Acts 11:16
• seals us Ephesians 1:13 | Ephesians 4:30 | Romans 15:16
• comforts us John 14:26 | Acts 9:31
• renews us Titus 3:5
• shows God’s love in our hearts Romans 5:5
• brings us joy Romans 14:17 | 1 Thessalonians 1:6
• brings us hope Romans 15:13
• speak for/through us Mark 13:11 | Luke 12:12 | Acts 1:16 | Acts 21:11 | Acts 28:25 | 2 Peter 1:21 | Jude 1:20
  • in other languages Acts 2:4
• speaks to us 2 Corinthians 13:14
• reveals to us Luke 2:26 | Acts 7:55 | 1 Corinthians 2:13 | 1 Corinthians 12:3 | Hebrews 3:7
• sends us Acts 13:4
• guides us Acts 16:6 | Acts 20:28 | 1 Peter 1:12
• gives us gifts Hebrews 2:4
• approves us as ministers of God 2 Corinthians 6:6
• witness with us Acts 5:32 | Romans 9:1 | Hebrews 10:15

Oil and the Holy Spirit

Hebrews 1
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 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; 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: Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

The New Testament has all through it the idea of anointing with oil.

• Mark 6:13 - Apostles anointing sick with oil and they’re healed
• Luke 7:38 - Woman anoints Yeshua’s feet with oil when disciples failed to anoint His head.
  • Luke 7:46 Christ told her, “Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.”
• John 12:3 - Mary anoints the feet of Yeshua with oil.

Then there’s also the anointing of the Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit.

• Luke 4:18 - Yeshua anointed by Holy Ghost
• Acts 10:38 - Yeshua anointed by Holy Ghost
• Hebrews 1:9 - Yeshua anointed by Holy Ghost
• 2 Corinthians 1:20-22 - After Pentecost, the apostles anointed by Holy Ghost

I believe this is apparent in the kingdom parable of the 10 virgins.

Matthew 25:1-10
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: [Didn’t have the Holy Spirit] But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, [1 Thessalonians 4:16-18] Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us 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 ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Breaking down purchasing or bartering, we give what is of value to someone else and in turn they give us what we value. I believe we “buy” the oil through offering what God wants, a relationship with Him. In return, we gain the anointing of the oil of the Holy Spirit. Like I pointed out before, if we love Yeshua, then we must obey Him. If we don’t obey, then we don’t really love Him. To remain in His love, we must remain in His ways which He explained to us in the Bible.

We cannot give the Holy Spirit (oil) to anyone else. It is gained through a personal relationship with Christ. If someone asks me for the Holy Spirit, I must direct them to Christ who will give the Holy Spirit to them. If they’re unwilling to go to the source and trade their obedience for His Holy Spirit, then they will not get the oil for their lamps. In that same way, they will not have flame and their lamps will not produce light. It’s interesting given that the Word is a lamp unto our feet.

Psalm 119:97-105
O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts. I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word. I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me. How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

The Spirit of God is love and He is the connection to God we have when we listen and obey.

1 Corinthians 3:16-23
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are your’s; Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are your’s; And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.

As Christians we have a connection to God because of our Savior Yeshua and through the Holy Spirit. This doesn’t make us God, but by His Spirit God gives us comfort and peace through our lives.

God’s Law was given as a physical demonstration of a spiritual principle, Love. If you read the 10 Commandments for instance, they give actions we should not do, shadows of Love. All of these physical acts point to spiritual principles. Until we read these ideas in a Book, all we have is personal experience in a physical world where the spiritual cannot be perceived with our physical senses.

As Yeshua said, all the Law of the prophets rest on just two, love God, and love your neighbors as yourselves, Matthew 22:36-40, The Golden Rule. Matthew 7:12 We were created for communion with each other. The enemy introduces experiences and ideas, thoughts, into our life that degrades that communication and creates division. The enemy is at enmity with God as is the flesh with the spirit.

Romans 7
Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Yeshua never sinned, although tempted as we are. Sin is transgression of the Law through disobedience. He was the only one without blemish that could take on our sins and He died on the cross to take the sins of those who would believe in Him. If you don’t know anything about Him, read the New Testament. Start at the beginning and head to the end. That is the best way to learn who He is. In this way, you make His Words your thoughts. When you accept them, you invite Him into your spirit when you ask and obey. If you don’t have the desire to read the Bible, ask God for the desire, I did that too. Request a greater hunger for His Word. It truly is an adventure, which I hope you will see from this website. You haven’t even imagined what is coming and the presence of God for eternity!

Think all this is nonsense? There’s a passage about you in scripture too! 1 Corinthians 1:17-31 Do you trust your own knowledge and understanding in the face of Absolute Truth? There is only one truth in all matters. The rest are lies or stories made up. History only happened one way, we may not always know the truth of what happened though. With hundreds of fulfilled prophecies written in the Bible and proven to have been written before their fulfillment, the Bible is also the most accurate Book with not one single error. (Supposed Bible Contradictions answered) I trust that the Bible is God’s Word given to us to guide us to follow His ways because in the end, all those without Christ covering their sins will be held accountable for those sins according to God’s Law, which is eternal. Therefore, we should take eternity into consideration when trying to make accurate choices about where we choose to spend it. With God, who is love, or away from God’s love completely. An absence of His love is exactly opposite of everything love is. It is hell. The choice is yours where you want to go, obey the Creator’s laws or be separated from His dwelling-place, heaven and His love. God loves you and wants you to choose Him.

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Did God Create Evil?

The following fictitious conversation sums up the point I hold regarding the existence of evil, where it came from and God’s role.

A university professor challenged his students with this question: Did God create everything that exists?

A student bravely replied “Yes, he did!”

“God created everything?” the professor asked.

“Yes sir,” the student replied.

The professor answered, “If God created everything, then God created evil since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are, then God is evil.”

The professor was quite pleased with himself and boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said, “Can I ask you a question professor?”

“Of course,” replied the professor.

The student stood up and asked, “Professor does cold exist?”

The professor replied “Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?”

The students snickered at the young man’s question. The young man replied, “In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat.

Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy.

Absolute zero (- 460 degrees F) is the total absence of heat. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat.

The student continued. “Professor, does darkness exist?”

The professor responded, “Of course it does.”

The student replied, “Once again you are wrong sir. Darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact we can use Newton’s prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color.

You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn’t this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present.”

Finally the young man asked the professor. “Sir, does evil exist?” Now uncertain, the professor responded, “Of course as I have already said. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man’s inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence we see everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.”

To this the student replied, “Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God’s love present in his heart. It’s like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.”

I would make a slight addition to that last paragraph in that what we define as good or moral comes from the very foundation that one who rejects God would like to imagine doesn’t exist. It’s the Judeo-Christian values that most of the Western world has been the beneficiary of in modern times. Yet the rejection of the foundation and move toward a more Darwinian approach erases any such foundation. For if we are but evolved bags of chemicals then who is to say what is right and wrong, good or evil?