Glory in the highest heavens to God... - Spirit & Truth Fellowship ...

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Th e Co n t e n d e r Because of the fall of Lucifer and Adam, the whole universe is suffering pain and is in the bondage of decay. Along with the glory that the angels of heaven give to God, there is to be peace on earth. But to whom The Greek phrase is only three words, and is literally translated, “among men of goodwill.” The truth being communicated is there is peace from God to people with whom He has goodwill. Modern versions try to express this idea, with, in my opinion, varying degrees of success, but the point is that God’s peace is not to everyone; it is for those who have turned their hearts to Him. This fits perfectly with the Old Testament prophecies and predictions of the coming Messiah, who was foretold to be a warrior for God, delivering His people while destroying His enemies. The very first prophecy of the Redeemer, in Genesis 3:15, foretells him being in conflict with the Devil, and by extension, the ungodly. That prophecy was confirmed in Moses’ time when Balaam foretold that the Messiah would “…crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth” (Num. 24:17b). David continued the picture of the Messiah as executing judgment on those who did not turn to God: Psalm 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. In the biblical culture, to kiss someone showed love, respect, honor, or homage. God and His Messiah deserve and demand love and respect, and those who refuse God will be destroyed, while those who take refuge in the Son will be blessed, just as the verse says. The message about the Messiah as an executor of God’s judgment continued through the prophetic books, and the last prophet, Malachi, wrote: DID YOU KNOW... That Genesis 3:15 contains the first prophetic words about the coming Savior, who we know will crush the head of Lucifer, God’s arch-enemy. THAT is something to praise God about !!! Malachi 3:1b-3a and 5a (1b) …the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lo r d Almighty. (2) But who can endure the day of his coming Who can stand when he appears For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. (3a) He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver… (5a) “So I will come near to you for judgment…. John the Baptist continued to portray the Messiah as one who would bless the people of God but execute judgment upon the ungodly. One way he expressed that was to compare the people of earth to a harvest. The evil people would be burned up like chaff, while the godly would be gathered into the barn (Matt. 3:12). Thus, the Messiah would bring peace, but he would bring it only to the people with whom God was pleased. Something else about the peace that people of God will enjoy is that it is clearly linked in prophecy to the destruction of those who oppose God. It is undeniable that the lives of everyone on earth would be more peaceful if there were no wicked people here. The people of God will enjoy peace in the future in part because Jesus Christ will destroy the wicked and unrepentant. Another aspect of the “peace” that would come to the people of God was that it would exist forever between God and His people due to Jesus’ offering himself as the “…Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29b). 10 Despite our best efforts to obey and please God, our sin nature and seemingly overpowering desires cause us to sin against God on a regular basis. The Old Testament portrays the separation between God and men very clearly, and in those days people approached God with blood sacrifices to cover and atone for their sin. Leviticus reveals an important aspect of these offerings to God, an aspect that is usually not clearly presented in our English versions. Leviticus 1:9 He [the sinner with the offering] is to wash the inner parts and the legs with water, and the priest is to burn all of it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lo r d. The NIV says that the burnt offering made an aroma “pleasing” to God, but the Hebrew word means more than that. The NASB is much closer when it says a “soothing” aroma. The Hebrew word, nichowach, means “soothing, quieting, 12 www.STFonline.org
Romans 5:1 says, “...we [Christians] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” and not, “Everyone now has peace with God.” tranquilizing,” and then by extension, “pleasing.” The offering did please God, but it did so by soothing and quieting Him. The picture being painted for us in Leviticus is that God is agitated, even angered, by our sin, but He is soothed, quieted, and pleased by the sin offering. Via the offering, which quiets and pleases God, the offerer has peace with Him. Scripture never says that the ungodly or unsaved have peace with God. The peace we have with Him is due to the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ, which soothes and quiets God and keeps us from His wrath. That is why Romans 5:1 says, “…we [Christians] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” and not, “Everyone now has peace with God.” The Church Epistles thus echo what the Old Testament and Gospels proclaim: that the peace of God is for those who have turned their hearts to Him. Once the Messiah was born, the promises of God were well on their way to being fulfilled. Heaven and earth, in bondage and pain, could be rescued, and mankind, seemingly ever displeasing to God, could once and for all be at peace with Him. Because Jesus walked out the path God set before him, all the way to the Cross, where with his dying breaths he said, “It is finished,” God’s plan of peace on earth will one day be fulfilled. Thus it was appropriate that on the day of Christ’s birth some 2,000 years ago, the angelic army of heaven descended to the earth and proclaimed to mankind, “Glory in the highest heavens to God, and on earth peace among men with whom he is well pleased” (Author’s translation). Notes: 1. I say “heavenly army” while most translators say, “heavenly host.” The Greek is stratia, and it was a common word for an army or band of soldiers. Robertson (Word Pictures in the New Testament) writes: “A military term for a band of soldiers common in the ancient Greek.” 2. We believe that Jesus was born in September, not December. Cp. Ernest L. Martin, The Star that Astonished the World (ASK Publications, 1991), Victor P. Wierwille, Jesus Christ Our Promised Seed (American Christian Press, New Knoxville, OH, 1982). For further study on when Jesus was born see TruthOrTradition.com/birth 3. Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are taken from the New King James Version®. © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 4. Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. 5. The Holy Bible, English Standard Version © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. 6. New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 7. Amplified Bible, © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. 8. The American Standard Version, 1901. 9. Young’s Literal Translation, by Robert Young, 1898. 10. For further study, visit TruthOrTradition.com/ passover Audio Seminars Make Great Holiday Gifts Romans Seminar Word for Word through the Book of Romans Jesus Christ The Diameter of the Ages Order online at STFonline.org/store or see page 3 of the enclosed price list The Sower Nov/Dec 2007 13
Page 1 and 2: THE SOWER The Sower is the bimonthl
Page 3 and 4: Ta b l e o f Co n t e n t s Credits
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Page 7 and 8: Spring Bible Study 2008 This year i
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Page 25 and 26: Was Jesus really born on December 2
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