Author: Jacinta da Cruz Rodgers

I have been committed to teaching the truth of the Word of God beginning with Trans World Radio on Bonaire, N.A and Swaziland, Africa (1969-1980), then through churches in the United States in both English and Portuguese and then through ministry in Israel (2005-2006). This ministry continues through local Bible studies and outreach to the world via the internet. I have written a book about my life from that of an orphan in Brazil to missionary in 5 countries. You can find out more on the "Book" page of our blog site.

A Roof and a Crowd

“Where there is a will, there is a way.” Life is full of surprises coming from every direction. It becomes reality for the pursuer of dreams. Mountains, we did not expect are sometimes present in the fulling of a dream, or a plan. I call this an obstacle. The Bible tells us a story of a crippled man, desperately needed the attention of YAHSHUA for his healing. Mark registers the incident in chapter 3:1-5: And YAHSHUA having returned to Capernaum, after some days it was rumored about that He was in the house [probably Peter’s]. And so many people gathered together there that there was no longer room [for them], not even around the door…Then they came, bringing a paralytic to Him, who had been picked up and was being carried by four men. When they could not get him to a place in front of YAHSHUA because of the throng, they dug through the roof above Him; and when they had scooped out an opening, they let down the quilt or a mat upon which the paralyzed man lay. And when YAHSHUA SAW THEIR FAITH, He said to the paralyzed man, Son, your sins are forgiven and put away. Something must be reasoned in the words of YAHSHUA:” son, your sins are forgiven.” We understand here that sin, in many cases, is the result of diseases. YAHSHUA, in His divinity had the power to save that man from hell and at the same time, heal him physically. He had to deal with the cause for his disease first, so that he would be healed in its entirety. The realization of sins in our lives should be the primary concern when directing our petition to our Lord YAHSHUA for healing.

On another occasion, there was a certain man who had suffered with a deep-seated and lingering disorder for thirty-eight years. When YASHUA noticed him lying there, knowing that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, Do you want to become well? He answered, Sir, I have nobody when the water is moving to put me into the pool; but while I am trying to come [into it] myself, somebody else steps down ahead of me. YAHSHUA said to him, Pick up your bed and walk! Instantly, the man became well and recovered his strength and picked up his bed and walked… Afterward, when YAHSHUA found him in the temple, He said to him, See, you are well! Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you. The man went away and told the Jews that it was YAHSHUA Who had made him well. For this reason, the Jews began to persecute and sought to kill Him, because He was doing these things on a Sabbath (John 5:5-9,14-15). Here there is no obstacle for the healing of this man, except his own sin. YAHSHUA warned him not to continue in sin, otherwise, worse was going to happen to him.

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Silver and Gold I Do not Have

Those were days of miracles, days of power and revival. The ministry of YAHSHUA on earth had finished after His redeeming work for humanity. The twelve disciples minus one were instructed to carry on the work He had left behind for them to do. He set the foundation for His church and entrusted the disciples to continue the work until He returns to fetch His bride. His church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ YAHSHUA himself the chief Cornerstone. In Him the whole structure is joined together harmoniously, and it continues to rise into a holy temple in the Lord (Eph. 2:20-21). The church had its beginning at Pentecost. It was forty days later after His resurrection that He sent His Spirit to earth to bring about a revival in the beginning of the disciples’ ministry the world had never experienced. So, when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all assembled together in one place; when suddenly there came a sound from heaven like the rushing of a violent tempest blast, and it filled the whole house in which they were sitting and there appeared to them tongues resembling fire, which were separated ad distributed and which settled on each one of them … when this sound was heard, the multitude came together and they were astonished and bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own dialect. (Acts 2:1-3,6). So, the church of YAHSHUA had its beginning in a most unique way. Unliky today’s many churches with its gods of many colors, and lifeless. Churches with doctrines contrary to God’s standards. Lifeless, their gods can only sit where they put them to be; some with their arms opened ready to receive children for a sacrifice.

The beautiful love of our Lord YAHSHUA has no measure. He gave all His life to redeem the world. And when He left the earth, He still stayed in the form of His Holy Spirit, to counsel, to guide, to teach, to convict and sanctify those to be according to the image of YAHSHUA, so that we might walk in holiness, as He is holy, until that day when we are taken from this world and are glorified. As He is, so we will be. Meanwhile, YAHSHUA gave the responsibility to the disciples to build His church. In those days of great revival, the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit to perform miracles and wonders, as a sign of His presence on earth. Those days were filled with wonders and people from all around witnessed and some participated in that movement. There were about three thousand souls saved during those days. Day after day the disciples regularly assembled in the temple with united purpose… constantly praising God and being in favor and good will with all the people; and the Lord kept adding daily those who were being saved. (Acts2). That was the time to be alive to experience first-hand the message of Gospel of YAHSHUA in its pure form. No denominations with their doctrinal differences; just the pure and fresh gospel straight from those who walked with YAHSHUA for three years, learning from Him and being trained for the purpose to carry on the ministry of the church. And here we have, the apostles in action! In Luke ten, we have the report of the seventy disciples after they return from their mission; they said, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name! Amazing what YAHSHUA answered them: He said, I saw Satan falling like a lightening from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power that the enemy [possesses] and nothing shall in any way harm you. (Luke 10:17-19). Before YAHSHUA ascended to heaven He commanded the disciples to go into all he nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you and behold, I am with you all the days to the close and consummation of the age. (Matt.28:19-20).

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Healing Was Included in YAHSHUA’S Atonement

When YAHSHUA completed His work of atonement to save the world, He said, “It is finished!” What did He mean by that? We were redeemed from hell and healed from diseases. The Prophet Isaiah says: For many the Servant of God became an object of horror; many were astonished at Him; His face and His whole appearance were marred more than any man’s and His form beyond that of the sons of men… He was despised and rejected and forsaken by men. A Man of sorrows and pains and acquainted with grief and sickness, and like One from Whom men hide their faces He was despised and we did not appreciate His worth or have any esteem for Him; surely, He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows and pains, yet we considered Him stricken, smitten and afflicted by God; but He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain peace and well-being for us was upon Him and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole (Isaiah 52:13; 53:3-5). And Psalm 22 Continues: My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from the words of my groaning?… Many [foes like] bulls have surrounded me, strong bulls of Bashan have hedged me in. Against me they opened their mouths wide, like a ravening and roaring lion; I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; it is softened [with anguish] and melted down within me; my strength is dried up like a fragment of clay pottery; my tongue cleaves to my jaws and You have brought me into the dust of death (Ps. 22: 1,12-15). Here, He describes the horror of His sufferings; that was when the Romans broke His body by scourging Him without mercy. That was for our healing, my friend. These prophetic utterances were fulfilled and registered in the New Testament by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and Acts.

Matthew writes: Then the governor’s soldiers took YAHSHUA into the palace, and they gathered the whole battalion about Him. And they stripped off His clothes and put a scarlet robe upon Him. And weaving a crown of thorns they put it on His head and put a reed in His right hand. And kneeling before Him, they made sport of Him, saying, Hail king of the Jews! Mark says: And they struck His head with a staff make of a reed and spat on Him and kept bowing their knees in homage to Him. And when they had finished making sports of Him, they led Him out to crucify Him (Mark 15:19-20). Luke describes YAHSHUA’S agony in the Gethsemane Garden saying, Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done. And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him in spirit. And being in agony [of mind], and prayed more earnestly and intently, and His sweat became like great clots of blood dropping down upon the ground. (Luke 22:42-44). After being scourged severely, without strength left, they made Him to carry our cross. Six hours hung on the cross, He suffered the worst pain, the separation from His Father, when our sins were put on Him. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me”? He suffered the pain of hell. His sacrifice was completed when He affirmed,” It is finished!” Salvation for the world, and also physical healing. We Praise You, YAHSHUA! Thank you for our healings. We have learned to accept His sacrifice for our salvation, but we struggle receiving the gift of healing. The fact is, the healing was part of His atonement. He gave us faith, and hope, which we must mingle together to receive our healing. Hope is empty without faith. Faith is the “spark plug” of hope. Faith and hope were in the words uttered by Him on the cross- IT IS FINISHED! The Word of God will not return to Him void of accomplishing that for which He sent. When we pray His words back to Him, He will answer us, no matter how long it will take. In Isaiah 55:10 He said: For as the rain and snow come down from the heavens, and return not there again, but water the earth and make it bring forth and sprout, that it may give see to the Sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

If then the Bible says, By His stripes we are healed and made whole (Isaiah 53: 5), What do you think it means? Why is that that we can’t grasp His word to believe with hope and faith for it to be accomplished in us? Psalm 91 says, You shall tread upon the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent shall you trample underfoot (Ps. 91:13); YAHSHUA gave to the seventy disciples authority and power to trample upon serpent and scorpions and over all the power that the enemy possesses and nothing shall in any way harm you (Luke 10:19). These are our enemies!

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Whom Are You Waiting for?

In these days and hours, the world is waiting for a change to better the lives of people; freedom from debts, low prices of goods, low interest rates to be able to afford a nice size house; the world waits for a man who will bring harmony among nations, called peace. Meanwhile, the world is turning the other way, facing judgment at the door. Look around you, what do you see that is pleasing to your soul? A body covered with tattoos? Confusion of sexes? Violence? And many other subjects we will not mention here. The world smells like it needs a coffee enema, better yet a spiritual enema. The foul smells that the world spreads around, makes it to be distasteful to people of faith in the Lord YAHSHUA. Sadly, not everyone named Christian are aware of the world’s spiritual situation, for they became part of it. These, like the days of Lot, when he and his family were tormented with the life styles of those days, are Lot’s day. YAHSHUA said, as it were in the days of Noah and Lot, so it will be in His day. This is a sign we go by to know how close He is to fetch His bride. Paul’s letter to Titus says, For the grace of God has come forward for the deliverance from sin and the eternal salvation for all mankind; it has trained us to reject and renounce all ungodliness and worldly desires to live discreet , upright, devout lives in this present world, awaiting and looking for the (fulfillment, the realization of our) blessed hope, even the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Messiah YAHSHUA; Who gave Himself on our behalf that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for Himself a people who are eager and enthusiastic about living a life that is good and filled with beneficial deeds (Titus 2:11-14).

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They Begged Him to Depart From Their Town

That day, was a very busy day for YAHSHUA. When He came down from the mountain, great throngs followed him (Matt.8:1). The people’s physical needs were many. On that day, He healed a leper, who worshipping Him said, Lord, If You are willing, You are able to cleanse me by curing me. YAHSHUA, with great compassion, reached out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed by being cured. And instantly his leprosy was cured and cleansed (vs2-3). When going to Capernaum, He was met by a centurion, begging YAHSHUA to heal his servant. So, YAHSHUA healed the centurion’s servant. At Peter’s house, He found Peter’s mother-in-law lying ill with a fever; He touched her hand and the fever left her; she got up and began waiting on Him (vs.14-15). And thus, He fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, He Himself took our weaknesses and infirmities and bore away our diseases (Isa.53:4). YAHSHUA’S life was the Word of God; He lived the Word, He preached the word. All prophecies coming from Him were fulfilled or will be fulfilled. Even before His trials, He fulfilled the Isaiah’s prophecy. People ran after Him to be healed and to hear Him teach. He was the most popular man on earth in His days. Perfect in all He said and done, yet, He was hatred by the Jewish authorities, even today many of them continue hating Him for no cause.

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Our Ways Are Not God’s Ways – God’s Thoughts Are Not Our Thoughts

(Isaiah 55: 8- 11)

Abraham was seventy-five years old when God called him to leave his country, relatives and his father’s house to a land He was going to show him. He promised to make a great nation from him and bless him with riches. Seventy-five in those days was still a young age, relatively speaking, for his father had died at the age of 205. He had no children at that time, for his wife was barren. When the Lord appeared to Abraham in a vision a second time, he said to the Lord God, What can You give me, since I am going on childless and he who shall be the owner and heir of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? Look, You have given me no child; and born in my house is my heir. Abraham in his human nature is puzzled, not understanding God’s time line for the fulfillment of His promise. Sixteen years later, God came to Abraham again and this time he made a covenant between Him and Abraham. This covenant was that Abraham shall be the father of many nations; he probably wondered when, since sixteen years had passed since God had called him out of his land to a new land He was going to give him but his wife still was barren.

When God came to Abraham the last time before his wife conceived, he was at the age one hundred and his wife at ninety years old. God’s promise of a son became a matter of laughter to both of them. But God assured them that time that He was going surely to return to them when the season had come round, and behold, Sarah his wife was going to have a son. The reality to them was that they were now old, well advanced in years; it had ceased to be with Sarah as with women. Therefore Sarah laughed to herself, saying, After I have become aged shall I have pleasure and delight, my lord being old? The Lord saw and heard Sarah and said, Is anything too hard or too wonderful for the Lord? At the appointed time, when the season comes around, I will return to you and Sarah shall have borne a son (Gen.17,18:10-14). God’s thoughts are not our thoughts; our ways are not His ways!

The Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for her as He had promised (Gen. 21:1). Abraham was one hundred and Sarah ninety years old; but what is it to the Lord, since He is the Creator of life, and He is not in a frame of human time? He opened the womb of Sarah and what seemed impossible to them and their family, and a matter of laughter, became an expression of God’s power and faithfulness, for there is nothing hard for Him. His thoughts are not our thoughts; our ways are not His ways. He could have called someone younger according to our thoughts and reasoning; or He could have given Abraham a son earlier, but how would they have known the depth of God’s power and wisdom in the fulfilling of His promise to them? In our weakness God’s strength is manifested. Abraham had to go through a few experiences in life before he would see the reality of the promises. First he had to believe in the only true God, since he had come from a family of idol worshippers; second, he had to have faith to take the first step in obedience to God. Faith and obedience were then credited to him, for doing the impossible as far as to obey God in sacrificing his only son as God had asked of him to do. He had waited for that son twenty-five years. Now the Lord wanted to take him back. The depth of his faith went beyond the visible reality; in his faith he obeyed, believing God was going to give him his son back after he had killed him, as we read in Hebrews 11:17-18: By faith Abraham, when he was put to the test, had already brought Isaac for an offering; he who had gladly received all welcomed [God’s] promises was ready to sacrifice his only son, of whom it was said, through Isaac shall your descendant be reckoned, for he reasoned that God was able to raise [him] up even from among the dead. Indeed in the sense that Isaac was figuratively dead, he did receive him back from the dead. “God’s thoughts are not our thoughts; our ways are not God’s ways”!

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A Journey through the Desert of Life

For you did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother’s womb I will confess and praise You for You are fearful and wonderful and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are You works, and that my inner self knows right well; My frame was not hidden from You when I was bring formed in secret [and] intricately and curiously wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them… (Ps. 139: 14-16).

The beautiful creation of man expresses the depth of the wisdom of our God! Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unfathomable are His judgments! And how untraceable are His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord and who has understood is thoughts, or who has been His counselor? … For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever! Amen. (Rom. 11:33- 34,36).

When God created man, He created him in His image, like no other creature he had created. Some special to consider and feel honored by. He gave man a beautiful garden to take care and live in. The earth was filled with beauty, as life was sinless and perfect. “It was good!” So, God said. Emerged in the wisdom of God in everything created, the world made its turns, bringing new days with the brightness of the sun which nourished and beautified all. A smile confirmed peace and joy all enjoyed. The Garden of Edem was the ornament of all lands and still is, because it is the Lord’s land. The fragrances the garden sent out were the fragrances of purity. Man needed nothing more to have his life complete and fulfilled, as God visited him and fellowshipped with him in the cool of the day.

The world enjoyed that period of time, short or long, I do not know, although, we wished that time would have lasted forever, as the pages of history would have had a different story to tell. We do not have understanding of what happened in that garden, but we have the promise that all will be changed someday. Meanwhile, life portrays that of Adam and Eve in their disobedience to God. The journey through this world became filled with challenges. We are born to die; the future is dark and uncertain in many ways, as dark as that day when Adam and Eve opened the door to sin, then sin entered into the world, bringing man the reality of his consequential destiny. The everyday choices we make in our journey will certainly dictate our day. Adam’s new journey started on cursed ground, on roads of thorns and with the sweat of his face he labored to provide food for the family and of course, life was not the same; death was now part of his life. Out of the dust he was formed, to that end he will return. It is rather depressing when we reason life this way: a beautiful beginning with a tragic end. New lives are sprouted every moment into the world, bringing happiness, a smile that will take a long time to fade. The future of everyone is written in the book of God. His Words determine the destiny of all lives. A journey is seen from the distance, with clear choices to make. Choices of all kinds, good or bad. As an example, Adam and Eve’s fall to sin changed the world, for sin continued spreading to all generations. When Cain, their first son, was born, he already had in his DNA the root of iniquity; His life was unique and strange. Becoming a vagabond, his life’s journey was rough and unpleasant, for he lived under God’s judgment.

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Wells, A Place to Meet

(Genesis 24:10-27; 29:1-11; Exodus 2:15-19; John 4)

After the death of Sarah, Abraham’s wife, he concentrated on the future of his son Isaac. He sent away his trusted servant, Eliezer of Damascus, who ruled over all that he had, to look for a wife for his son. He gave him specifics where to go to find him a wife. Eliezer in agreement, as was their custom, put his hand under the thigh of Abraham and swore to him concerning the matter (Gen. 24:9). He departed with ten camels, some treasures and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor (Abraham’s brother) (Gen. 24:10).

Eliezer made his camels to kneel down outside the city by a well of water at the time of the evening when women go out to draw water and there he prayed: “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, I pray You, cause me to meet with good success today and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I stand here by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming to draw water. And let it so be that the girls to whom I say, I pray you, let down your jar that I may drink, and she replies, Drink, and I will give your camels drink also – let her be the one whom You have selected and appointed and indicated for Your servant Isaac; and by it I shall know that You have shown kindness and faithfulness to my master” (Gen. 24:11-13). One thing to note here is that Eliezer directed his prayer to Abraham’s God for the sake of His promise given to Abraham. The success Eliezer was after had nothing to do with him. He was serving only as a middle man; he was very much out of the picture in God’s fulfilling His promise to Abraham. In other words, with or without Eliezer, God was going to do what He had promised. Eliezer needed a well, as it was the custom for a sojourner to wait at a well for a drink. But he was waiting for the right woman to appear through whom God would answer his prayer.

Rebekah came into the picture and did according to Eliezer’s prayer. Not only did she serve water to his men, but she volunteered to water the animals also. Rebekah was the perfect fit for all the requirements Abraham set before Eliezer: She was also Abraham’s brother descendant and she was willing to go along with Eliezer when she was asked if she were willing to go with him. (Gen. 24:4,8, 58). So we see that Rebekah fulfilled all three requirements and confirmed that she was to be the bride of Isaac. No doubt that the meeting at that particular well brought success to Eliezer in finding a wife for his master’s son, because he started his journey depending on God’s guidance to the right place at the right time. His visit to the well was perfectly timed in God’s calendar and He blessed Isaac through Eliezer’s faithfulness.

Twenty years later God blessed Isaac and Rebekah with twin boys after Isaac prayed much to the Lord for a child. Esau was the first born; he was red all over like a hairy garment. His name means hairy. Jacob came out grasping Esau’s heels. His name means supplanter. Esau however, under the pressure of hunger, sold his birthright to his brother, who would not let him have some of his food, unless he sold his birthright to him. So for a bowl of lentil soup he lost his birthright. Jacob, in another occasion, by pretending to be Esau, stole his birthright and received Esau’s birthright’s blessings. At the anger of his brother he was encouraged by his parents to flee to Haran, where his mother’s brother lived. Isaac blessed him and sent him away.

Haran was a city in Mesopotamia, today part of Syria. Jacob’s trip from Beersheba to Haran was approximately 450 miles. In that long journey Jacob had a lot of time to ponder over his deceiving actions in relationship to his brother’s birthright, starting with the trade of his lentil soup, when his brother was very hungry. The Bible registers that even when in the womb of their mother they struggled together. Discomforted, Rebekah went to inquire of the Lord and He answered her saying, “Two nations are in your womb, and the separation of two peoples has begun in your body; the one people shall be stronger than the other, and the elder shall serve the younger” (Gen. 25:22-23).

That was a long and lonely road for Jacob to travel. But he too was going to find a well that would change the course of his life. On his journey, the Lord God appeared to him several times assuring him of His blessings, for it was through him that God was going to fulfill the promise to Abraham. “As he looked, he saw a well in the field and behold, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it, for out of that well the flock were watered” (Gen. 29:2). The refreshing time came to him when he saw Rachel, daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his uncle. . . He kissed Rachel and he wept aloud; he told Rachel he was her father’s relative, Rebekah’s son. She ran and told her father. Laban ran to meet Jacob, and embraced and kissed him and brought him to his house (Gen. 29:10,11-13). There was quite a celebration at that well! The future sparked in their lives and God was pleased. Jacob spent twenty years living with his uncle Laban in Syria. All his sons were born in Syria, with the exception of Benjamin and daughter, Dinah. From his sons the nation of Israel was born.

Moses, an adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter, found himself running away for his life, after having killed an Egyptian for beating a Hebrew, one of his brothers. He fled from Pharaoh’s hand and found refuge in the land of Midian, where he sat down by a well (Exodus 2:15). The Midianites descended from Midian, one of Abraham’s sons through his wife Keturah (Gen. 25: 1-2). The distance between Egypt and Midian was about 200 miles. The Midianites dwelt in the Sinai Peninsula (Exodus 3:1). As Moses sat at the well waiting for someone to come, the seven daughters of Midian priest came to draw water for their father’s flock. Meanwhile the shepherds drove them away, but Moses noticing it, stood up to help them to water their flock (Exodus 2:15-17). He was invited to eat bread with the family as a reward and was given the oldest daughter for a wife. He remained in Midian forty years before the Lord called him out. The well in Midian, served as a connection place for Moses. He had been a fugitive and disconnected with his world, but through the well he became connected with a family, who blessed him with a family of his own. God had never forgotten Moses; instead He was preparing him for a task he never expected. Those forty years of his life in that desert were years of lessons how to be a leader in the school of life.

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The Revelation Concerning the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ

It is a most solemn fact that Religious Christendom, by accepting that the Savior’s resurrection took place early on the Sunday morning after His death at 3 P.M. on the Friday, makes each of the Three specific statements on the subject uttered by our Lord Himself appear grossly inaccurate. It is, therefore, a singular joy and a cause for much thanksgiving to be able to dispel the cloud of suspicion which has gathered around these Three statements by virtue of Christendom’s willingness to accept and act upon a theory which does despite to each one of them. Every true Christian knows that our Lord could not err in any statement He made; but for eighteen centuries no one has been able to prove to the world from the Scriptures that each of His Three predictions was literally fulfilled. Rather have His statements been explained away than explained, and this often by those to whom the process must have caused much misgiving.

Statement 1: Matthew 16: 21…

“From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised again the third day.”

The expression “raised again the third day” appears no less than ten times, in one form or another, as follows: Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; Mark 9:31; 10:34; Luke 9:22; 18:33; 24:7, 46; I Corinth. 15:4. This is by far the most frequent term used in reference to the time the Lord would be raised from the dead.

Statement 2: Mark 8:31

“And He began to teach them, that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”

This statement “after three days” occurs only once in the Authorized Version but the Revised Version renders Mark 9:31 and 10:34 as “after three days”. It is also quoted in this form by the Jews to Pilate when the asked for a guard for the sepulchre. (See Matt. 27:63 and Luke 24:21.)

Statement 3: Matt. 12:40

“For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

The statement is only recorded once in the Gospels.

Statement 3 is the most important of all because our Lord prefaced it with the words, “There shall no sign be given … but the sign of the prophet Jonas”. If, therefore, our Lord was not in the literal sense “three days and three nights” in death, then His one sign to this “evil and adulterous generation” failed. To declare such a thing would be blasphemy. To evade the issue by accepting the notion that the expression used by our Lord was a Jewish idiom that need not be treated literally is a most dangerous slight upon Him which, if taken to its final analysis, would allow His critics all the leeway they wish when belittling His statements on other subjects. To be a true prediction, our Lord’s session in death must have covered all or part of “three days” and all or part of “three nights”; and exactly the same terms would have applied to Jonah’s session in “the whale’s belly”.

Obviously, our Lord intended these three statements covering the time of His resurrection to be complementary one to the other. They are not purposeless and each one accomplishes a different object. We will take them in turn.

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Jacob and His Stone Pillow

(Gen. 28:10-19)

Isaac had reached the age of when his eyes were dimmed and the thought of death approaching. He favored Esau, his older son, for his hunting skills and his know how to cook an appetizing meat to satisfy him. He was partial to Esau; but Rebekah loved Jacob. So he called Esau and ordered him to go hunt game for him, so that he would bless him as his firstborn before his death. But other ears were listening to Isaac’s order and things did not happen as Isaac planed. At the command of his mother, Jacob got involved in a scheme she planned, to make him the heir of the blessings instead of Esau. This is not a story with a beautiful picture. When Rebekah was expecting the twins, she was told by God that two nations were in her womb, and the separation of two peoples had begun in her body; the one people were going to be stronger than the other, and that the elder was going to serve the younger (Gen. 25: 23). So Rebekah felt that then was time for Jacob to fulfill the prophecy through her deceits. As a result, Jacob had to flee home to escape death from his brother for having stolen all the blessings from him. He was sent to his parent’s family far away in the land of Haram, approximately five hundred miles from Beersheba, where he lived.

Jacob left home to the destination suggested to save his life. His life was not going to be the same ever again; neither would he see his mother. He had a lot of time to think through what he had done to bring his life on a line of a fugitive. Although it was not his idea, he had the choice not to follow his mother’s suggestion, since he was of age (seventy-seven) and smart enough to understand that his decision would bring him consequences. But Jacob was an opportunist and crafty to get what he wanted. One thing he always wanted was Esau’s blessings of firstborn. He then stole it with a bowl of soup when Esau was faint with hunger. Here now, a feud started that cost many lives throughout the centuries to this day. We have a woman to thank her for.

It was a long journey. But when Jacob thought it to be over for him, God came to rescue him. Jacob’s first stop, just before the sun set was in a place where there were several stones. He took one and used it as a pillow. That must have been a very special stone. When he laid his head on it, he soon fell asleep. It was as if it was the most comfortable pillow Jacob had laid his head on. And a dream came to him of a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the Lord stood over and beside him and said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; I will give to you and to your descendants the land on which you are lying. And your offspring shall be as the dust or sand of the ground, and you shall spread abroad to the west and the east and the north and the south; and by you your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed and bless themselves (Gen. 28:11-14). God had come to Jacob in a dream with great spiritual and prophetic significances. He saw a ladder that reached heaven; in it the angels or messengers of God ascended and descended. The ladder is the means of unifying heaven and earth through the Son of God; He is the Way the Truth, and the life (John 14:6). Angels were carrying the message of the covenant made to Abraham and Isaac and was ratified to Jacob, as the beneficiary. Through him as well as Abraham all the nations would be blessed in YAHSHUA’S life, Who was going to come from the line of Jacob. Jacob understood one thing from that dream: surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it; this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gateway to heaven (Gen. 28:16-17).

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