Wrestling with Darkness

 Last night I spent a few hours wrestling with sleeplessness, partly due to escalating concerns about what is going on in the world and how it may affect our lives. Of course, there is very little I can do about these concerns except to cast them on the Lord Jesus and ask for divine intervention. Needless to say, after a night like that I'm somewhat spent physically.

If you have ever dealt with someone with psychosis, a personality disorder or addiction issues, you might understand what it means to wrestle with the forces of darkness. There are many stories in the Bible about Jesus wrestling with demons, and last Sunday our fellowship group studied one of these accounts in the gospel of Luke.

While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them. Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ. When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them. But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.” Luke 4:40-43

Matthew adds this note to the account:

This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.” Matthew 8:17

A couple of years ago I looked up that reference in Isaiah and received this message from the Lord: Jesus spent his entire ministry on earth bearing our pain and weakness. By His scourging we are healed. He continues this ministry through us, so that our suffering in His name is never in vain.

The quote from Isaiah 53 is part of a "Suffering Servant prophecy", a chapter which foretells in great detail the suffering and sacrificial death of the Messiah, written hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus. What I never realized when studying Isaiah was that this suffering was not only on the cross. Each time Jesus wrestled with diseases and demonic forces He was fulfilling His calling to bear our burdens and carry away our infirmities.

In the passage from Luke and Matthew above, Jesus wrestled with these demons all night, leaving just as the morning light approached to find respite from the crowds of desperate people. These times were mentally and physically exhausting, and many times Jesus could only find respite before dawn in secluded places like the hills of Galilee.

The body of Christ continues this ministry of suffering. As Paul said:

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. Colossians 1:24

 Or as Peter says:

but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. 1 Peter 4:13

So to the degree that we are reviled, mistreated or simply wrestle with the unseen enemy, these times call for rejoicing and expectation of glory that is to come. We do not suffer and struggle alone; we suffer with Christ who bears our pain and understands our needs.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:18

 And finally there is an incomparable reward for all suffering of the innocents and those made righteous by His blood, so that like Christ we can endure it for the joy set before us.

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Seventy Times Seven

Thoughts regarding the seventieth Jubilee, the kindness and patience of God, and the end of sin...

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

II Peter 3:9 NASB

Just how patient is God and just how long will he wait for us? In Noah's generation it was many years from the time Noah began to build the ark until the flood came. After the prophecy of Jonah, God waited more than 100 years to destroy Nineveh and the kingdom of Assyria. After the crucifixion of Christ, the church endured 38 years of Jewish persecution before Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jewish nation was scattered. None of these time periods indicate a time limit for sin, but they do prove that there is a limit to God's patience and that an end of sin is coming. A clue can be found in Matthew 18:

Peter came and said to Him,

“Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."

Matthew 18:21-22 NASB

In this passage and the following parable, Jesus indicates that we must always be ready to forgive, since we have each been forgiven an unimaginable debt to God ourselves. The condition in the parable that triggers God's wrath is not a number or a time limit, but rather the unmerciful behavior of the one who was given great mercy. (Note that Jesus commands heart-forgiveness; to do less is to leave our debtors in prison.)

There is another "seventy times seven" in the Bible, an interesting coincidence or maybe something more:

Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city,

to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity,

to bring in everlasting righteousness,

to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.

Daniel 9:24 NASB

Those weeks (Hebrew "shabuim") are generally interpreted by Christian scholars as periods of seven years, thus the prophecy primarily refers to the 490 years from that time until the final atoning sacrifice of Christ and the anointing of the body of Christ for world outreach. This prophecy was to be sealed and only released after it was fulfilled. If the math seems strange, consider that seven years is the time designated by God for the remission of debt. The last year of this shabua is known as a "Sabbath year" (Hebrew "shemittah"). Seventy times the shemittah would be observed in the land of Israel, seventy times seven times the high priest would offer the yearly atonement for their sins. After this time God would turn his face away from the Jews and send his Jewish church to the Gentiles. (Remember that after God lifts his hand of protection, there may be years before the natural consequence of sin causes the inevitable disastrous effects.)

The question remains how long before the "times of the Gentiles" is fulfilled and the Messiah returns to reconcile the Jews to himself. There is another type of "shabua" or period of seven known as "Jubilee" (Hebrew "yobel"). Jubilee occurs after seven shemitta periods, or every 49 years. Jubilee is a year when Jews are to return to their tribal homeland, and when the land of Israel should revert to its original tribal allotments. Thus Jubilee has a special relationship to the promised return of Messiah and the establishment of his kingdom on earth.

It turns out that, according to many who have studied this subject, we are in the seventieth Jubilee since the promised land was first given to the tribes of Israel. There are two possible implications regarding this time that we live in now. First, that the seventy times seven prophecy of Daniel applies also to the second coming of Christ, and that the time has come for sin and transgression to end and the promised everlasting righteousness to be established on earth. Second, that the grace of God extended to mankind may have a limit of "seventy times seven" after all, as alluded to by Christ in the book of Matthew.

I'm not suggesting that there is a time limit on God's forgiveness, or that Messiah must come within a certain known time window, but rather that now is a special time and should be treated with utmost diligence to seek a right relationship with God through the mercy offered to us in Christ.

Jubilee is a season of liberation, and a time of spiritual renewal. Though the land may sit idle (i.e. we should not focus on material gain), it is a time when we should use our storehouse of spiritual treasure to reach those in need. Here's a good article on the positive aspects of this Jubilee year:

http://www.johnnyandelizabeth.com/blog/2016-true-year-of-jubilee.

If this Jubilee is bringing the kingdom of Satan to an end, let's consider what that could mean. The One speaking in Daniel 12 says this:

“At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise.

There will be a time of distress

such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then.

But at that time your people

—everyone whose name is found written in the book—

will be delivered.

Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake:

some to everlasting life,

others to shame and everlasting contempt.

Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens,

and those who lead many to righteousness,

like the stars for ever and ever.

Daniel 12:1-3 NASB

The final jubilee will be a time when all property returns to its rightful owner (God). Such a financial catastrophe will lead to a time of great distress for those who don't have faith, but in the midst of this trouble the people of God will be delivered, and will shine like the stars of heaven. Stars shine at all times, but they can only be seen in darkness. People will be drawn to the light, or they will run to the darkness, so that the fruit will be evident and the harvest can begin.

The true church will stand and grow, while the apostate church will descend with the reprobate culture. At some point this apostasy will exhaust the patience of God, and then the end will come. Truthfully, I don't know how or when this will end, but I know The One who will end it. I'm sure it will be crystal clear at that time, as clear as the glassy sea around His throne. Until then we must work while it is called today, so that Christ may present us to himself as his spotless bride.

Mercy and Atonement

Reading Psalm 136, you can't help but notice that every verse ends with "His steadfast love endures forever". (It would help if we also had the original tune to go along with this "praise chorus"!)

So being overly analytical I wanted to see what those words are in Hebrew.  Ki le'ovlam chasdow - Because of His eternal mercy.  The Hebrew word for "steadfast love" or "mercy" is chasdow or Chesed (start by snoring backwards, then add "hess-said").  Chesed is one of the core attributes of God.  It refers to how God treats those in need - to care for them and help them.  A Chesed organization in Israel would be called a charitable organization in America.

So I got curious if this word was used in the "mercy seat" of the Torah.  Not at all.  Actually I was surprised to see that the "mercy seat" is really mistranslated and would be more accurately translated "the covering" or "the atonement cover".  The Hebrew is "Hakkaporet" or simply "The Cover".  The root word "kopher" (KPR) in Hebrew has several meanings, most often translated "ransom" or the price one must pay to redeem a life from debtor's prison or slavery.  I think this must be where we get the usage of "covering a debt" in English.

OK, so step back for a moment and consider what the the Kopher is covering.  It's the lid on the ark of the covenant.  Inside the ark of the covenant is the Law of Moses, which is the law of sin and death.  We could go back one more step and note that "kopher" also means "pitch" or "bitumen" which was used to seal and protect another ark - Noah's ark.

So, why does the ark need a covering?  In Noah's case the ark needed to be sealed so it could float for a year without leaking or getting waterlogged.  The "kopher" kept the creatures inside the ark separate from the water outside the ark.  In that sense it stood between the redeemed and judgment.

In the case of the ark of the covenant, the cover was to stand between man and the law of sin and death. This is the concept of atonement.  Yom Kippur - the day of atonement - would ensure that the sins of the people were covered for another year.  Why is this translated "the mercy seat"?  "Seat" because the cover is seated on the top of the ark (an artifact of King James English I suppose).  "Mercy" because it is only by God's great mercy that we are not consumed by His wrath.  The law requires death as the penalty for sin, and all of us stand in need of His mercy to save us from the just sentence of death.


So now we come to what covers our sins as Christians.  It is the righteousness of Christ. Unlike the black tar used to cover the ark of Noah, the righteousness of Christ is a white linen garment, fine and clean.

Genesis 3:21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

Isaiah 61:10 For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness.

Galatians 3:27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Revelation 19:18 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.

Yet there is something more than atonement available for followers of Christ.  Atonement is temporary, and our sins are covered by the blood of Christ while we are in the flesh, but we are also:

Redeemed (all our debts under the Law are paid by Christ's sacrifice),

Reconciled (brought back into the presence of God),

Saved (delivered from the power of sin and spared from the wrath of God),

Reborn (resurrected to a new life in Christ),

Justified (imputed with the righteousness of Christ),

Sanctified (purified from sin and re-formed into the image of Christ),

Anointed (filled with the Holy Spirit of God),

Appointed (sent into the world to make disciples of all men), and

Glorified (together with Christ) when our earthly bodies are exchanged for heavenly bodies in the world to come.

Now that I think about this list, I think I will memorize it for a time of thanksgiving and praise!