A few months ago as I was coming to the end of my study in Luke's gospel I was drawn once again to this 'as it began so shall it end' principle. Here's what I noticed.....
Proclamations
- Mary is visited by an Angel who tells her she has found favour with God and will give with birth to a Son.
- When Mary goes to the tomb an Angel is sitting where Jesus head had been laid and asks why she is seeking the living among the dead indicating from death life has come.
Singing
- On the night Jesus is born an Angel proclaims his birth to shepherds, low born men, and is joined by multitudes of Angels singing and praising God.
- Children sing hosanna's as Jesus enters Jerusalem for his final days
Donkey
- Mary and Joseph took a donkey with them to Bethlehem when they went to register for the census. Mary was carried into town on the donkey's back. By default Jesus also entered Bethlehem riding on a donkey albeit he was still in the womb. The donkey Mary rode was mature and should have been used to carrying heavy loads.
- Jesus rode into Jerusalem for his final Passover on a donkey's colt, an immature animal that may not have been used to being ridden, even so this young animal accepted the load, a man.
Crown
Some of these things might seem like I'm stretching or trying to make them fit some theory. That isn't my intention, it's simply to show again their is a clear principle that beginnings and endings have similarities in the case of the prominent figures in scripture.
Beginnings and Endings
There is one other very obvious set of similarities which we should look for and may well be aware of though not explicitly so. These can be found in the creation account as well as the remarks about the end times.
Genesis One outlines the order of Creation as far as the physical structure is concerned. So we find light, sky, solid land mass with vegetation, stars and heavenly bodies, creatures in the seas and on land and finally man. This is the order in which they come into being. Scriptures not only gives us this detail but also details how things will end.
Mat 24:29 says
Mark 13 also refers to these events ......
I also see there is no malice in these events otherwise there would be no water, the land would disappear, plants and animals / sea creatures would perish immediately. However knowing what we know about our need for sunlight this cannot be a lasting situation since the sun will no longer give light. The importance of the sun to life is paramount, it is the sun that stimulates the plants to produce photosynthesis, the sun not only warms us it continues to support the building blocks of life.
I don't want to frighten anyone, I'm just pointing out the principle I've seen again and again in the pages of the Bible. I wasn't looking for it but I found it and having found it I've been awed by the frequency of it.
As a believer I'm moving away from childish understanding and seeing the purposeful hand of the Creator in all that is important to Him. I am ever thankful to Jesus for the sacrifice of the cross for my sin, for His determination to suffer crucifixion a brutal and cruel death, and for his resurrection that opens the door for me to eternal life with the Father Jesus went to great pains to reveal. My mind is on what comes after the cross, I believe if we are to achieve the purpose we are given we must move beyond the sacrifice of the Lamb so that we can become beneficiaries of atonement.
Let me say that I am not, nor would I attempt to diminish what cannot be diminished or to nullify the cross, I am now recognising the need to come into a more mature understanding, to do what Peter says which is to come off the baby milk. The Cross is important to those seeking the way of salvation. However, once we have found the path we continue on it otherwise we do not "grow up in our faith" as Peter urges us to do.
It is Peter who directs our gaze beyond the awful events of Calvary and helps us focus our gaze on Eternity, the Father and the resurrected and eternal Son. The danger for believers is that over emphasis on the Cross without balancing resurrection and the journey beyond the one time event may actually blind us to the wonder of the God of salvation as we focus on the salvation offered by God which is a different thing.
Let me bring this to a conclusion by saying I recently heard a man speaking about God being in the details. In 2008 this was the very phrase the Holy Spirit spoke to me, He wanted me to remember that despite how it seems we will find God in the details even when it seems He isn't there. I am now hearing prominent men and women speaking the very things I heard in secret in 2008. I have fought against offering these things up to doubt which would have robbed me of these days of 'victory'.
Holding onto the revelations of God when no-one seems to be speaking them is a lonely place to be. Just as I have been encouraged to hear these things now come into the body through respected teachers so I hope to encourage anyone reading these blogs. God's voice is very distinct and is the voice that is counter to the voices of the day. Test the spirit - does it say Jesus is Lord, that He is the Son of God, that He is the way of salvation? Filter everything through the Spirit of God, if He revealed it only He and He alone can confirm it because He is the Spirit of Truth, the same spirit Jesus relied on and the same spirit who has come into the world to comfort and reveal God to the believers. It's time to grow up in(to) our faith, to move on from the spiritual milk we have been consuming so that we will develop the characteristics of the God who made us for His glory.
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- Though no visible or physical crown is mentioned in the accounts of Jesus birth He is called the Prince of Peace, King of Kings, and prophecy speaks of his never ending kingdom so the indication of a crown is there.
- In his final hours a crown of thorns is jammed onto his head and a title is given to him by Pilate - King of Jews - is nailed above his head for all to see. Though there is no physical kingdom the title points to one that is unseen.
Myrrh
- Wise men (Magi) present Jesus with myrrh at his birth.
- Jesus is offered myrrh and wine as he walks towards Golgotha
Some of these things might seem like I'm stretching or trying to make them fit some theory. That isn't my intention, it's simply to show again their is a clear principle that beginnings and endings have similarities in the case of the prominent figures in scripture.
Beginnings and Endings
There is one other very obvious set of similarities which we should look for and may well be aware of though not explicitly so. These can be found in the creation account as well as the remarks about the end times.
Genesis One outlines the order of Creation as far as the physical structure is concerned. So we find light, sky, solid land mass with vegetation, stars and heavenly bodies, creatures in the seas and on land and finally man. This is the order in which they come into being. Scriptures not only gives us this detail but also details how things will end.
Mat 24:29 says
-
The sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky and the heavenly bodies will be shaken 30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth[c] will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.[d]31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Luke 21 tells us
- 25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
Mark 13 also refers to these events ......
24 “But in those days, following that distress, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25 the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken"
It's interesting to note the earth will remain in its physical form and from my understanding of these events it is because people will not immediately die or be wiped out. At this time the people still living will see Jesus as he returns. I also see there is no malice in these events otherwise there would be no water, the land would disappear, plants and animals / sea creatures would perish immediately. However knowing what we know about our need for sunlight this cannot be a lasting situation since the sun will no longer give light. The importance of the sun to life is paramount, it is the sun that stimulates the plants to produce photosynthesis, the sun not only warms us it continues to support the building blocks of life.
I don't want to frighten anyone, I'm just pointing out the principle I've seen again and again in the pages of the Bible. I wasn't looking for it but I found it and having found it I've been awed by the frequency of it.
As a believer I'm moving away from childish understanding and seeing the purposeful hand of the Creator in all that is important to Him. I am ever thankful to Jesus for the sacrifice of the cross for my sin, for His determination to suffer crucifixion a brutal and cruel death, and for his resurrection that opens the door for me to eternal life with the Father Jesus went to great pains to reveal. My mind is on what comes after the cross, I believe if we are to achieve the purpose we are given we must move beyond the sacrifice of the Lamb so that we can become beneficiaries of atonement.
Let me say that I am not, nor would I attempt to diminish what cannot be diminished or to nullify the cross, I am now recognising the need to come into a more mature understanding, to do what Peter says which is to come off the baby milk. The Cross is important to those seeking the way of salvation. However, once we have found the path we continue on it otherwise we do not "grow up in our faith" as Peter urges us to do.
It is Peter who directs our gaze beyond the awful events of Calvary and helps us focus our gaze on Eternity, the Father and the resurrected and eternal Son. The danger for believers is that over emphasis on the Cross without balancing resurrection and the journey beyond the one time event may actually blind us to the wonder of the God of salvation as we focus on the salvation offered by God which is a different thing.
Let me bring this to a conclusion by saying I recently heard a man speaking about God being in the details. In 2008 this was the very phrase the Holy Spirit spoke to me, He wanted me to remember that despite how it seems we will find God in the details even when it seems He isn't there. I am now hearing prominent men and women speaking the very things I heard in secret in 2008. I have fought against offering these things up to doubt which would have robbed me of these days of 'victory'.
Holding onto the revelations of God when no-one seems to be speaking them is a lonely place to be. Just as I have been encouraged to hear these things now come into the body through respected teachers so I hope to encourage anyone reading these blogs. God's voice is very distinct and is the voice that is counter to the voices of the day. Test the spirit - does it say Jesus is Lord, that He is the Son of God, that He is the way of salvation? Filter everything through the Spirit of God, if He revealed it only He and He alone can confirm it because He is the Spirit of Truth, the same spirit Jesus relied on and the same spirit who has come into the world to comfort and reveal God to the believers. It's time to grow up in(to) our faith, to move on from the spiritual milk we have been consuming so that we will develop the characteristics of the God who made us for His glory.
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