Passover to Tabernacles - Part Twenty Two Apr 17, 2022 by: John Herbert | Series: Passover to Tabernacles Audio Study Notes PDF https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T002_20220417.mp3 Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Jn 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! Today we will look at the death of the Passover Lamb and His resurrection. The full text of this message can be found bt clicking the PDF button. Sunday April 17th 2022 Resurrection Sunday Passover to Tabernacles Part 22 1). Jn 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! Three days prior to the day that we have come to call ‘Resurrection Sunday’, at the feast of Passover, Jesus had been slain by the Jewish people through the hands of Rome. And as we now know, the Jews knowingly killed their King that day and unknowingly killed their God given Passover Lamb, the One who will ultimately take away the sin of the nation. And the Lord’s death this day had been foreshadowed through the type of Cain killing Abel, of the sacrifice of Isaac and Joseph thrown in the pit, and had been seen in the death of every Passover lamb from the Exodus to His crucifixion. It had been foretold in the prophets and the Psalms. a). The events of the day the world has come to call ‘Good Friday’ encompass three things. Firstly, we have the rebellious actions of a rebellious nation who were responsible for the rejection and murder of the One who was born their King, pledging their allegiance to a pagan ruler instead – Jn 19:15 But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!” 16 Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led Him away. And this act of rebellion, being something of a capstone to the nation’s centuries of unbelief, has resulted in 2000 years of dispersion and persecution for the Jewish people at the hands of the Gentile nations; a persecution that will reach its final, unprecedented level during Daniel’s seventieth week. b). The purpose of this persecution though is not revenge but repentance to be followed by redemption. Which brings us to the second thing to note about that day, the unwitting killing of the nation’s Passover Lamb. Although judgment has come upon the Jews for killing their King, no such judgment could ever come upon them for killing their Passover Lamb. This they were given to do in Exodus Chapter 12, and even though they did it unknowingly they still found themselves fulfilling God’s command in doing so. c). Unlike the Jews in Exodus Chapter 12 however, those who had slain their Passover Lamb at Calvary have yet to apply the blood that was shed. This will be done in that future day when they look on the One whom they pierced. And they will apply the blood that had been shed 2000 years previously by an act of faith, by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. d). And this will bring us to the third thing encompassed in the events of the Passover in 33AD. As we know, the Kingdom of the heavens was to be taken from the Jews and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And we have seen through the types of Genesis Chapter 24 and the Book of Ruth, that this nation, the new creation in Christ, would ultimately be made up primarily of eternally saved Gentiles. e). The Gentiles of course had not been given the Passover Lamb to kill, that was an entirely Jewish affair, but in Christ’s substitutionary death is found God’s provision for life with respect to the endless ages. And this in essence is the substance of the gospel of grace – Acts 16:30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. In Acts 16:31, the gospel of grace is succinctly put, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ….’ And that which was to be believed on had to do with Christ’s death and shed blood. According to Ephesians Chapter 2 – Eph 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins……. We were all born dead in trespasses and sins and this death has to do with separation from God not only for the age to come but also throughout the endless ages to follow – Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment…. There is an appointment made with death that can either be kept in Christ or apart from Christ. And the choice to be made is between either receiving the One who has kept this appointment with death on our behalf or keeping the appointment ourselves. Either way, the appointment will be kept, and God’s righteous judgment will be fulfilled. To receive Christ is to receive His death as our own. f). Consequently, Paul, who became the apostle to the Gentiles, even during the time covered by the Book of Acts when he went to the Jew first, when encountering unsaved Gentiles, had to begin with the gospel of grace – 1 Co 2:1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. From the verses in 1 Corinthians Chapter 2 it is clear to see that when encountering unsaved Gentiles Paul’s message was not in ‘excellence of speech or of wisdom’, it was a message of simplicity itself, ‘I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.’ It was a message involving death and shed blood, a message of a substitutionary death, it was the gospel of grace. g). Every unsaved Gentil during the Acts period would have been presented with this message first and beyond the end of the Book of Acts this message is the only beginning point for every unsaved Jew and Gentile. This is the place where we began. 2). But Jesus had already made clear that His death on the cross with respect to Jew or Gentile was not the end of the matter – Mt 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. He would be raised on the third day. And His resurrection on the third day has nothing to do with the provision of eternal life either for the Gentiles who would subsequently become part of the one new man in Christ, or for the Jewish people yet future, but it had everything to do with the purpose for which Jesus had been begotten and had come to the earth, the Kingdom of the heavens and rulership in the Seventh Day. a). What we have come to call eternal salvation is provided through the events of the Passover in 33AD. And was completed in its entirety that day – Jn 19:30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. There was no more that needed to be done or could ever have been done. It was finished. With that provision set irrevocably in place, it is then on the third day that Christ is raised from the dead, and as we have seen, our Lord’s resurrection has an inextricable connection to the Kingdom of the heavens, with the fulfillment of God’s purpose for rulership in the Seventh Day, which had been set in place in the first thirty-four verses of the Book of Genesis. b). And this had also been made clear through a parable that the Lord had given – Lk 19:11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12 Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. It is the Lord who is pictured in ‘the certain nobleman’, and He has gone into a far country, the heavens, to sit at the right hand of the Father until His enemies are made His footstool, to receive for Himself a Kingdom, and then to return to establish that Kingdom in righteousness. c). And inseparably connected to this process, and to accomplish this purpose, our Lord’s resurrection and ascension made possible the sending of the promise of the Father - Jn 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And the promise of the Father is what those chosen to be His apostles were to wait for following the Lord’s ascension - Acts 1:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” And the promise was sent on the Day of Pentecost - Acts 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had 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 the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And as we have seen in our past weeks of study, the immersion in the Holy Spirit of the one hundred and twenty in the upper room brought into existence the one new man in Christ, the new creation. And the purpose for this new creation was to re-offer that same Kingdom of the heavens, that a certain nobleman had gone into a far country to receive, to the same generation of eternally saved Jews who had initially rejected the message and the Messenger, to bring about national repentance – Acts 3:26 To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.” And quite clearly from this verse we can see that the Lord’s resurrection had to do with the Jews first, that they might be blessed and turned from their iniquities through the re-offer of the Kingdom of the heavens. d). But, as time progressed and Jewish national repentance was not forthcoming, so the offer of the Kingdom of the heavens was taken to the Gentiles. And as we have seen, of necessity, those Gentiles needed firstly to pass from death to life before they could understand and receive the message of the Kingdom, the Word of the Kingdom, the gospel of the glory of Christ. 3). Acts 17:9 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising. 30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” A day has been appointed upon which God, in the person of Son, will judge the world in righteousness. And we are assured of the certainty of this coming day by Christ’s resurrection. There is a day appointed for every human being to appear before the Lord in judgment – 1 Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. And every human being will be either prepared for that day or not. And judgment will begin, in order, with us, the eternally saved from the 2000 years of this dispensation; a judgment in relation to the Kingdom that the certain nobleman went away to receive. And there will be Christians in that day who are prepared for this judgment and those who will not be – Mt 25:10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. The Jews coming out of the tribulation along with the resurrected O/T saints will be judged at the wilderness of the peoples also in relation to the Kingdom in the Seventh Day – Jn 5:28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. And the eternally saved Gentiles who will come out of the tribulation, seen at the sheep and goats’ judgment, will also be judged in relation to the same Day and the same Kingdom. a). And with regards to both the Jews and the Gentiles at their respective judgments, there will be those who are prepared for their judgment and those who are not. b). And at the end of the Millennial Kingdom all of those who are unsaved will appear at the great white throne judgment, having been completely unprepared for any other outcome. c). And in relation to our own judgment that is soon to come with respect to the Kingdom and the Seventh Day, our Lord’s resurrection on the Feast of Firstfruits, three days after His crucifixion takes on further enormous significance for us because of what it makes possible as we prepare for that judgment, as we see from – 1 Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In these familiar verses from Peter, we see that we have been brought forth from above to embrace a living hope, which can only be ours through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. d). The hope that we have then, is embodied in our Lord who is alive, but this hope that we have is not in the reality of Jesus being raised from the dead and the certainty that gives to all who have believed on Him that they would be raised also. Rather our hope is in the purpose that is to be accomplished through the Lord’s resurrection – Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Our hope is in the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ that we might appear with Him in glory also, to fulfill our heavenly calling, to receive our inheritance and adoption as firstborn sons, and receive the salvation of our souls – Col 3:4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. 5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: And once more, in our Lord’s resurrection, we find that there are two inseparable elements that make it possible for us to be properly prepared to fulfill our calling – Jn 13:8 Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. On the night of the last supper Jesus had washed the feet of His disciples, an action that pointed to the ministry that He would occupy with respect to the one new man in Christ following His resurrection, that of our great High Priest. e). It is to the throne of grace and our High Priest found there that we are to go to obtain mercy and find grace to help in our time of need as we confess our sin, the sin of the saved – 1 Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. To state the obvious, it is only through His resurrection from the dead that the Lord can now be our High Priest to deal with our ongoing sin – 1 Jn 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. And this brings us to the second of the two inseparable elements that make possible our proper preparedness, the death of the old man, And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. Ro 6:3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. It is in the power of the Lord’s resurrection that we are to walk, in newness of life – Eph 1:18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And if we should now choose to live in the power of His resurrection, putting to death the old man, and confessing our sin when we don’t, then we can, like Paul attain the out-resurrection from the dead at the Lord’s Judgment Seat – Php 3:8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the out-resurrection from the dead. And with all these things in mind we will understand why Paul wrote this in – 1 Co 15:13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But we can praise God that the teaching you have received is not empty and neither is your faith empty nor futile and nor is our hope only in this life – 1 Co 15:20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. The Lord is risen, He is risen indeed! More next time, if we remain and the Lord is willing, and we have prayed. Passover to Tabernacles - Part Twenty Two Apr 17, 2022 Speaker: John Herbert Series: Passover to Tabernacles Category: Sunday Morning https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T002_20220417.mp3 Download Audio x
Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Jn 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! Today we will look at the death of the Passover Lamb and His resurrection. The full text of this message can be found bt clicking the PDF button. Sunday April 17th 2022 Resurrection Sunday Passover to Tabernacles Part 22 1). Jn 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! Three days prior to the day that we have come to call ‘Resurrection Sunday’, at the feast of Passover, Jesus had been slain by the Jewish people through the hands of Rome. And as we now know, the Jews knowingly killed their King that day and unknowingly killed their God given Passover Lamb, the One who will ultimately take away the sin of the nation. And the Lord’s death this day had been foreshadowed through the type of Cain killing Abel, of the sacrifice of Isaac and Joseph thrown in the pit, and had been seen in the death of every Passover lamb from the Exodus to His crucifixion. It had been foretold in the prophets and the Psalms. a). The events of the day the world has come to call ‘Good Friday’ encompass three things. Firstly, we have the rebellious actions of a rebellious nation who were responsible for the rejection and murder of the One who was born their King, pledging their allegiance to a pagan ruler instead – Jn 19:15 But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!” 16 Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led Him away. And this act of rebellion, being something of a capstone to the nation’s centuries of unbelief, has resulted in 2000 years of dispersion and persecution for the Jewish people at the hands of the Gentile nations; a persecution that will reach its final, unprecedented level during Daniel’s seventieth week. b). The purpose of this persecution though is not revenge but repentance to be followed by redemption. Which brings us to the second thing to note about that day, the unwitting killing of the nation’s Passover Lamb. Although judgment has come upon the Jews for killing their King, no such judgment could ever come upon them for killing their Passover Lamb. This they were given to do in Exodus Chapter 12, and even though they did it unknowingly they still found themselves fulfilling God’s command in doing so. c). Unlike the Jews in Exodus Chapter 12 however, those who had slain their Passover Lamb at Calvary have yet to apply the blood that was shed. This will be done in that future day when they look on the One whom they pierced. And they will apply the blood that had been shed 2000 years previously by an act of faith, by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. d). And this will bring us to the third thing encompassed in the events of the Passover in 33AD. As we know, the Kingdom of the heavens was to be taken from the Jews and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And we have seen through the types of Genesis Chapter 24 and the Book of Ruth, that this nation, the new creation in Christ, would ultimately be made up primarily of eternally saved Gentiles. e). The Gentiles of course had not been given the Passover Lamb to kill, that was an entirely Jewish affair, but in Christ’s substitutionary death is found God’s provision for life with respect to the endless ages. And this in essence is the substance of the gospel of grace – Acts 16:30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. In Acts 16:31, the gospel of grace is succinctly put, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ….’ And that which was to be believed on had to do with Christ’s death and shed blood. According to Ephesians Chapter 2 – Eph 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins……. We were all born dead in trespasses and sins and this death has to do with separation from God not only for the age to come but also throughout the endless ages to follow – Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment…. There is an appointment made with death that can either be kept in Christ or apart from Christ. And the choice to be made is between either receiving the One who has kept this appointment with death on our behalf or keeping the appointment ourselves. Either way, the appointment will be kept, and God’s righteous judgment will be fulfilled. To receive Christ is to receive His death as our own. f). Consequently, Paul, who became the apostle to the Gentiles, even during the time covered by the Book of Acts when he went to the Jew first, when encountering unsaved Gentiles, had to begin with the gospel of grace – 1 Co 2:1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. From the verses in 1 Corinthians Chapter 2 it is clear to see that when encountering unsaved Gentiles Paul’s message was not in ‘excellence of speech or of wisdom’, it was a message of simplicity itself, ‘I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.’ It was a message involving death and shed blood, a message of a substitutionary death, it was the gospel of grace. g). Every unsaved Gentil during the Acts period would have been presented with this message first and beyond the end of the Book of Acts this message is the only beginning point for every unsaved Jew and Gentile. This is the place where we began. 2). But Jesus had already made clear that His death on the cross with respect to Jew or Gentile was not the end of the matter – Mt 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. He would be raised on the third day. And His resurrection on the third day has nothing to do with the provision of eternal life either for the Gentiles who would subsequently become part of the one new man in Christ, or for the Jewish people yet future, but it had everything to do with the purpose for which Jesus had been begotten and had come to the earth, the Kingdom of the heavens and rulership in the Seventh Day. a). What we have come to call eternal salvation is provided through the events of the Passover in 33AD. And was completed in its entirety that day – Jn 19:30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. There was no more that needed to be done or could ever have been done. It was finished. With that provision set irrevocably in place, it is then on the third day that Christ is raised from the dead, and as we have seen, our Lord’s resurrection has an inextricable connection to the Kingdom of the heavens, with the fulfillment of God’s purpose for rulership in the Seventh Day, which had been set in place in the first thirty-four verses of the Book of Genesis. b). And this had also been made clear through a parable that the Lord had given – Lk 19:11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12 Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. It is the Lord who is pictured in ‘the certain nobleman’, and He has gone into a far country, the heavens, to sit at the right hand of the Father until His enemies are made His footstool, to receive for Himself a Kingdom, and then to return to establish that Kingdom in righteousness. c). And inseparably connected to this process, and to accomplish this purpose, our Lord’s resurrection and ascension made possible the sending of the promise of the Father - Jn 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And the promise of the Father is what those chosen to be His apostles were to wait for following the Lord’s ascension - Acts 1:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” And the promise was sent on the Day of Pentecost - Acts 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had 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 the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And as we have seen in our past weeks of study, the immersion in the Holy Spirit of the one hundred and twenty in the upper room brought into existence the one new man in Christ, the new creation. And the purpose for this new creation was to re-offer that same Kingdom of the heavens, that a certain nobleman had gone into a far country to receive, to the same generation of eternally saved Jews who had initially rejected the message and the Messenger, to bring about national repentance – Acts 3:26 To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.” And quite clearly from this verse we can see that the Lord’s resurrection had to do with the Jews first, that they might be blessed and turned from their iniquities through the re-offer of the Kingdom of the heavens. d). But, as time progressed and Jewish national repentance was not forthcoming, so the offer of the Kingdom of the heavens was taken to the Gentiles. And as we have seen, of necessity, those Gentiles needed firstly to pass from death to life before they could understand and receive the message of the Kingdom, the Word of the Kingdom, the gospel of the glory of Christ. 3). Acts 17:9 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising. 30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” A day has been appointed upon which God, in the person of Son, will judge the world in righteousness. And we are assured of the certainty of this coming day by Christ’s resurrection. There is a day appointed for every human being to appear before the Lord in judgment – 1 Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. And every human being will be either prepared for that day or not. And judgment will begin, in order, with us, the eternally saved from the 2000 years of this dispensation; a judgment in relation to the Kingdom that the certain nobleman went away to receive. And there will be Christians in that day who are prepared for this judgment and those who will not be – Mt 25:10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. The Jews coming out of the tribulation along with the resurrected O/T saints will be judged at the wilderness of the peoples also in relation to the Kingdom in the Seventh Day – Jn 5:28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. And the eternally saved Gentiles who will come out of the tribulation, seen at the sheep and goats’ judgment, will also be judged in relation to the same Day and the same Kingdom. a). And with regards to both the Jews and the Gentiles at their respective judgments, there will be those who are prepared for their judgment and those who are not. b). And at the end of the Millennial Kingdom all of those who are unsaved will appear at the great white throne judgment, having been completely unprepared for any other outcome. c). And in relation to our own judgment that is soon to come with respect to the Kingdom and the Seventh Day, our Lord’s resurrection on the Feast of Firstfruits, three days after His crucifixion takes on further enormous significance for us because of what it makes possible as we prepare for that judgment, as we see from – 1 Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In these familiar verses from Peter, we see that we have been brought forth from above to embrace a living hope, which can only be ours through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. d). The hope that we have then, is embodied in our Lord who is alive, but this hope that we have is not in the reality of Jesus being raised from the dead and the certainty that gives to all who have believed on Him that they would be raised also. Rather our hope is in the purpose that is to be accomplished through the Lord’s resurrection – Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Our hope is in the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ that we might appear with Him in glory also, to fulfill our heavenly calling, to receive our inheritance and adoption as firstborn sons, and receive the salvation of our souls – Col 3:4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. 5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: And once more, in our Lord’s resurrection, we find that there are two inseparable elements that make it possible for us to be properly prepared to fulfill our calling – Jn 13:8 Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. On the night of the last supper Jesus had washed the feet of His disciples, an action that pointed to the ministry that He would occupy with respect to the one new man in Christ following His resurrection, that of our great High Priest. e). It is to the throne of grace and our High Priest found there that we are to go to obtain mercy and find grace to help in our time of need as we confess our sin, the sin of the saved – 1 Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. To state the obvious, it is only through His resurrection from the dead that the Lord can now be our High Priest to deal with our ongoing sin – 1 Jn 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. And this brings us to the second of the two inseparable elements that make possible our proper preparedness, the death of the old man, And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. Ro 6:3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. It is in the power of the Lord’s resurrection that we are to walk, in newness of life – Eph 1:18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And if we should now choose to live in the power of His resurrection, putting to death the old man, and confessing our sin when we don’t, then we can, like Paul attain the out-resurrection from the dead at the Lord’s Judgment Seat – Php 3:8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the out-resurrection from the dead. And with all these things in mind we will understand why Paul wrote this in – 1 Co 15:13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But we can praise God that the teaching you have received is not empty and neither is your faith empty nor futile and nor is our hope only in this life – 1 Co 15:20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. The Lord is risen, He is risen indeed! More next time, if we remain and the Lord is willing, and we have prayed.