Welcome to 2012
It has been said Christians are to be the living representations of the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Howbeit, in their gospels, all four gave no glory to themselves, but took on the humblest means while describing their own actions as they presented the gospel of Christ.
The four gospels tell the story of Jesus Christ’s ministry on earth, His death, resurrection and ascension. These four represent the foundations of Christ upon which every other principle of the New Testament — yea, even the Old Testament — are to be understood.
May the Lord Jesus Christ increase our wisdom in all His ways in 2012.
May God bless you and draw you nearer to Him this new year.
Peace out!
Loris
Psa 110 Christ in you, the Hope of Glory
Greetings! Let’s get started.
Psa 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto My Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.
A Psalm of David. This psalm was written by king David – a visual/auditory prophet - who also wrote many other psalms and prophecies in the Bible (Acts 2:29-31).
The LORD said unto My Lord. When you see the uppercased style “LORD” (Yehovah or Jehovah) used in the OT it refers to the Divine Name of God. This name is so sacred to Jews, it isn’t spoken out loud, but referred to as “YHVH” instead (also known as the “four letters” or “Tetragrammaton”).
H3068. Yehovah, yeh-ho-vaw’; from H1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God:–Jehovah, the Lord. Compare H3050, H3069.
The second, normal cased style “Lord” is used for many different Hebrew words in the Old Testament. In Psa 110:1, the Hebrew word “‘Adown” is used and it describes rulers who have a sovereign, controlling type of rule (both human AND Divine).
H113. ‘adown, aw-done’, or (shortened) ‘adon, aw-done’; from an unused root (mean to rule); sovereign, i.e. controller (human or divine):–lord, master, owner. Compare also names beginning with “Adoni-”.
Now, Jesus pointed to Psa 110:1 in Mk 12:36 when He asked the Pharisees why the scribes insisted Christ (the Messiah) was the son of David, since David had called Him “Lord” (2 Sam 7:11a-16; Mat 22:41-46; Lk 20:41-44).
Mk 12:35-37 And Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David? 36 For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on My right hand, till I make Thine enemies Thy footstool. 37 David therefore himself calleth Him Lord; and whence is He then his son? And the common people heard Him gladly.
Thus, Jesus pointed out since David wouldn’t call his own son “Lord,” Psa 110:1 showed 2 Sam 7:14 was not about David’s son, but God’s (Psa 2:7).
2 Sam 7:14 I will be His Father, and He shall be My Son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten Him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men.
Psa 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto My Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.
Sit on My right hand. Sitting on the right hand of the Father is a position of great honor and power, but in order for Jesus to get TO the Father SO that He COULD sit at His right hand, Christ had to die, be resurrected, and ascend to the throne (Mk 16:6; Lk 24:51; Acts 1:9).
The Apostle Peter pointed this out in Acts 3:34-35 when he tied Psa 110:1 in with David’s prophecy of Psa 16:7-10 and used it to explain the necessity of the resurrection of Christ (Jn 20:9; Acts 2:29-36).
Acts 2:34-35 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou on My right hand, 35 Until I make Thy foes Thy footstool.
You see, in Psa 16:7-10 God promised David He wouldn’t leave the Messiah in hell, nor suffer His Holy One to see corruption.
Psa 16:10 For Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption.
Peter pointed out that since David had died and hadn’t risen from the dead, then Psa 16:7-10 couldn’t have been about David, but instead was a prophecy about the resurrection of Christ (Jn 20:9; Acts 13:33-37; Rom 1:3-4). Read the rest of this entry »
Heb 1:13 It’s Not About Angels, It’s All About Jesus
Welcome to Heb 1:13 which once again brings Psa 110 to the forefront of Hebrews.
Heb 1:13 But to which of the angels said He at any time, Sit on My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool?
Heb 1:13 is based on Psa 110:1.
Psa 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto My Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.
I say “once again” because Psa 110 was first referenced to Heb 1:3 when it mentioned Jesus sitting “down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
Take a quick look below at Heb 1:3.
Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the Word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Thus, Jesus sitting at the Lord’s “right hand” is a “Key Phrase” in Hebrews that points us to Psa 110, where Psa 110:1 and Psa 110:5 both mention the Lord appearing at the LORD’s right hand.
Psa 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto My Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.
Psa 110:5 The Lord at Thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of His wrath.
In Psa 110:1 Jesus is “sitting” and in Psa 110:5 He is “striking.”
Psa 110 also contains the famous Old Testament prophecy of the Lord being a High “Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (Gen 18:18-20; Psa 110:4; Heb 5:6,10; 6:20; 7:1-3, 9-12, 7:15-17,20-22).
Psa 110:4 The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
Heb 5:6 As He saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
In fact, in contrast to all the other references given in Hebrews, Psa 110 verses receive more coverage than any other: Melchisedec is referred to well over nine times (Gen 18:18-20; Heb 5:6,10; 6:20; 7:1-3, 9-12, 7:15-17,20-22) and there are five references to Jesus sitting “at the right hand” of the Father (Heb 1:3; Heb 1:13; Heb 8:1; Heb 10:12; Heb 12:2).
There are also several inferences to Zion as the “house” (Heb 3:2-6), the “Tabernacle” (Heb 8:2, Heb 8:5, Heb 8:11-12, Heb 9:1-10:35) and “New Jerusalem” (Heb 11:10, Heb 11:14-16, Heb 12:18-24).
Psa 110:2-3 The LORD shall send the rod of Thy strength out of Zion: rule Thou in the midst of Thine enemies. 3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: Thou hast the dew of Thy youth.
It’s clear Psa 110 is vital to the content of the letter to the Hebrews.
And, when all of Hebrews is closely examined, a close correlation with Psa 110 appears, offering us insight into why the topic of angels has been brought up right alongside scriptures evidencing Jesus Christ as Lord God, Creator, and Almighty Son of God.
Psa 110 appears to have been used as a “guide” for the letter to the Hebrews. Read the rest of this entry »
Angels Or Human Messengers?
Greetings! Seeing as there’s so many mentions of angels within the first and second chapters of Hebrews, I want to point out a few things about the words used for “angel” (in both the Hebrew and Greek) before moving forward.
In short, the same Hebrew or Greek words used for angel are also used for “messenger, pastor, ambassador, king, teacher, etc.,” and can refer to both heavenly or human beings. Please look closely at the definitions below and you’ll see what I mean.
H4397. mal’ak, mal-awk’; from an unused root meaning to dispatch as a deputy; a messenger; specifically of God, i.e. an angel (also a prophet, priest or teacher):–ambassador, angel, king, messenger.
G32. aggelos, ang’-el-os; from aggello [probably derivative from G71; compare G34] (to bring tidings); a messenger; especially an “angel“; by implication a pastor:–angel, messenger.
In other words, there usually isn’t one, clear-cut, specific word to word translation from Hebrew “mal’ak” or Greek “aggelos” into English and the deciding factors are always the way the word was written in the original language and the context of that scripture.
The context of scripture is who wrote it, what’s written both before and after what you’re looking at (apply some breadth here), what’s being talking about and are there any references (“Key Words or Phrases“) to other scriptures?
You always have to look at the Bible as whole for understanding.
Thus, when you see the terms “angel, messenger, pastor, or ambassador, king, teacher, etc., consider these things and, if you can, see what the original Hebrew or Greek words are that lie behind the text.
Don’t just assume it means the same thing as it did in some other scripture. Read the rest of this entry »
How God’s Light Shines in the Darkness
Greetings! I put together this little video on Jesus as the Light and the rest of this post is the accompanying scripture to substantiate all that’s contained in the video scripturally. It’s also to help my international readers to follow along. Closed Captioning is functional as of right now, but the video must be started to select the “CC” button and turn it on. If you’re an international reader, I’ve also posted a brief video on How to Select Close Caption Languages in YouTube Videos (click here) showing how to select the various languages available.
I hope you’ll take the time to watch the video (and that it blesses you). Let’s move on.
As we know from studying the Book of Job (and the processes of life itself), sometimes when we’re going through the darker times of our lives, we can become bewildered and desperate, not knowing what to do about our dilemmas. When I’ve found myself in this sort of state, I, too, have desperately grasped at God pleading He show me how His Light can continue to shine in the darkness (and thus help me get through whatever it is I’m dealing with).
The good news is God’s Light is manifestly always there even if we can’t feel or see it. Read the rest of this entry »
Jesus as the Logos; Reasoning
Greetings. If you’ve been following the posts here on Breathing Book, then you know we recently covered Job as a continuation of the Heb 1:10-12 study (which quoted Psa 102:25-27 and took us to Psa 102 and Job). In those posts we discussed various biblical afflictions Satan’s placed on believers and how he continues to attack believers through “Offence.”
So now, whether you are currently in a time of peace or perhaps enduring conflict as a believer before whom Satan continues to place obstacles, this post will go over why it’s so important we continue to believe in the Truth of God’s Word. In other words, we’ll explain the meaning behind Jesus as the Word (Greek “Logos“) or Reasoning of God. Read the rest of this entry »
Apostasy Explained
When Offence Becomes Apostasy
Greetings! In our last post, “Skin For Skin,” we covered how Satan, as the Accuser of the brethren (Rev 12:10), uses offence to entice believers into taking offence, either within themselves or in commission against others (Mat 18:7-8; Mat 24:10; Acts 24:16; Phil 1:10). Now, we’re just about done with Job (for now), but before we move on, there’s one more thing about offence that I want to cover and that’s the topic of Apostasy (2 Thes 2:3-4).
You see, as far as Job is concerned, Satan hedged his bets and failed (Job 1:6-12; Job 2:1-7). God saved Job and Job came out restored (Job 42:10). But offence is something Satan already knows believers are going to commit and he knows believers can receive forgiveness from Jesus for it if they’ll just ask. So Satan’s real efforts towards believers aren’t really just to cause them to stumble or give them a few headaches, but what he really wants (and considers a complete success) is when a believer has a buildup of offence to the point of falling away from God, so that they don’t even ask for forgiveness anymore.
This is exactly what happens in 2 Thes 2:3-4, where the Greek word for ”falling away“ (Gk. apostasia) actually means “Apostasy.” Read the rest of this entry »
Skin For Skin: Attacked With Offence
Greetings! In my last post, Why Satan Still Operates, I wrote on how Adam and Eve’s eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil introduced a constant flux of both good and evil (the evil is called sin) within all mankind (Rom 5:12,14; Heb 12:1). I also wrote on Satan’s various functions and how (as angel/ god/ prince of this world and ruler of darkness) he continues to function as the administrator of that evil in this world as a result of what Adam and Eve did (Lk 4:5-7; Jn 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2 Cor 4:3-4; Eph 6:12; Col 1:16-17).
So, since we’ve covered Satan’s first accusation of Job in Job 1:9 The Meaning of “Cost,” we now come to Job 2:4-5, where Satan makes his second accusation of Job. Read the rest of this entry »