Salvation – Page 5 – Light from the Word

Wilderness, a Place For Temptation

(Luke 4)

Then YAHSHUA, full of and controlled by the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led in [by] the [Holy] Spirit for during forty days in the wilderness, where He was tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they were completed, He was hungry (Like 4:1,2). The devil came to YAHSHUA at the point of His need – hunger. Forty days and nights without eating can starve the body and lead it to death, that is, for some people, depending on their health factors. Forty days is long enough time for the body to have used all the resources it had to be sustained. YAHSHUA, as a man, was subject to the weakness of a human body, but not to man’s sinful nature. He was led to the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted in preparation for the ministry He was going to fulfill. Like us, He was also subjected to temptations, and to the extent of sufferings that we experience. So after fasting forty days and forty nights, His obvious need of that moment was hunger. Hunger and thirst in the desert are something hard to overcome without having knowledge of how to survive in such environment which lacks everything that benefits the body. The Bible does not say if He went without water however, I assume so. Whatever the situation, He went hungry after forty days.

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The Basis For Judgment

(John 3:19)

The Light has come into the world, and people have loved the darkness rather than and more than the Light for their works were evil (John 3:19b).

We all have experienced some time in our life, one way or another, the effect of physical darkness. Voided of light, darkness grabs and handicaps us with fear, panic, and anxiety. We feel lost, not knowing where we are and how to get somewhere. People associate darkness with the presence of evil, as in Satan and his demons, rightly so. The feelings of fear, panic, anxiety attacks are feelings that express the presence of evil spirits in the environment. For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of love and a sound mind (I John 4:18). Darkness is blindness. When we are used to the darkness, we find difficulty adjusting to the light. The eyes water and hurt to some extent until we become accustomed to the light. In other ways, light exposes evil deeds. It hides nothing that seems invisible.

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It Was About The Sixth Hour

(John 4)

Amidst the rumor that YAHSHUA was baptizing more disciples than John was, He decided to go back to Galilee from Judea. The Bible says that it was necessary for Him to go through Samaria, a distance approximately of forty- two miles from Jerusalem. There was an important task for our Lord to do in going to Galilee through Samaria embedded in the word “necessary.” The fact that Jews and Samaritans did not get along did not reflect the Lord’s way of thinking. He was a Jew, yes, but independent from all that was against His nature. To start with, He came from backgrounds that included Jews and Gentiles. The difference existent between Jews and Samaritans did not represent the purpose for which YAHSHUA had come to accomplish. The time had come when He had to visit the neighbor province of Samaria. The Samaritans were Jews who intermingled with foreigners and had embraced their cultures and their gods. So they were considered half-breeds and dogs.

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On the Road to Emmaus

(Luke 24:13- 34)

It was evening on that third day after YAHSHUA had been crucified and buried. Sadness echoed in the voices of His disciples the emptiness of His presence. They remained in hiding, afraid of the Jewish authorities, afraid of persecution after the death of their Messiah, as prophesized, Smite the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered (Zach. 13: 7b). In His priestly prayer, YAHSHUA prayed for the protection of His disciples from the evil one. He protected and guarded those given to Him while with them. The disciples well knew but lacked understanding why had the Son of YAHWEH come to earth. They so expected Him to deliver Israel physically from the Romans and were terribly disappointed with the outcome, although, time, after time, YAHSHUA warned them of His death followed by His resurrection after three days. They heard, but they did not listen. Their emotional disappointment would have been mild, had they understood the true meaning of YAHSHUA’S warnings.

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Who Will Believe Our Message?

(Isaiah 53)

Who is there among you who will give ear to this? That was a question the Prophet Isaiah made that echoed throughout the ages. What message was he talking about? The message concerning Messiah YAHSHUA Who was to come to carry men’s burden of sins through His sufferings unto death. His message carried a weight of responsibility upon all of us who heard it. The only way that the message would be profitable was through hearing and listening to believe. The prophetic message was all about love- the love of God. When YAHSHUA volunteered to be the replacement for bulls and other animals used for sacrifice, He did for love of the human race, which was lost and at the mercy of eternal punishment. The blood of bulls could never offer salvation or redemption for men whose condition was being condemned to hell. Isaiah so prophesied: He was despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and pains, and acquainted with grief and sickness; no appreciation was shown for His worth, for Who He was. He, by His love for all humankind, carried our griefs; He carried our sorrows and pains. Although His action was of pure love, men thought Him to be stricken by God and continuously, made fun of Him, and beat Him the more. He received the wounds in His body because of man’s transgression. Transgression means to overstep the law, to go beyond its limits. The act of transgressing shows pride and un-submissiveness and chaos. Take for example the traffic laws. When one runs the red light accidents and even death occur. For that type of sin, YAHSHUA was wounded. He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities. He was bruised deeply in His Spirit for our guilt and iniquities. Guilt, when not dealt with, can bring remorse and ultimately suicide to the person who has not been able to forgive him/herself, neither accept God’s forgiveness, as it was in the case of Judas. Iniquity is the sin of unrighteousness, and wickedness which passes from generation to generation. Isaiah saw YAHSHUA being bruised in His Spirit in dealing with our guilt and iniquity. This sin nature is the one that will take one to hell. It is sin at its worst. It is the premeditated and continuous sin. It lodges itself in the genes of men, robbing him of power to overcome it. Only by the blood of YAHSHUA, one can be liberated from its power. To bruise is to crush one’s emotion and spirit. It goes beyond skin deep to the most inner being. YAHSHUA so suffered for that type of sin.

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The Acceptable Year of the Lord

(Luke 4:20; Isaiah 61)

YAHSHUA, after having gone through baptism and forty days fasting in the wilderness where He was tested exceedingly by the devil, went to Galilee, full of the Holy Spirit to lead a course of teachings in their synagogues. Nazareth, the place where He grew up, was also included. He entered the synagogue, as was His custom on the Sabbath day and stood to read. And there was handed to Him [the roll of] the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the good news to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed, to proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound]. (Isaiah 61:1,2) Then He rolled up the book and gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were gazing at Him. And He began to speak to them: Today this Scripture had been fulfilled while you are present and hearing (Luke 4).

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YAHSHUA’S Travail- The Birth of His Church

He shall see [the fruit] of the travail (labor pain) of His soul and be satisfied; by His knowledge of Himself Shall My Righteous One, My Servant, justify many and make many righteous, for He shall bear their iniquities and their guilt (Isaiah 53:11).

“He shall see the fruit of the travail of His soul and be satisfied.” The born-again believer is the fruit of the travail of His soul. Even though, “the story and the message of the cross is sheer absurdity and folly to those who are perishing and in their way to perdition, to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (ICor.1 18). YAHSHUA’S labor pains were marked when the Father let all our iniquities fall on Him. In the flogging, the world was offered physical healing. In His death, many were reconciled with the Father and were born anew. It confirmed His words to Nicodemus, Unless a man is born of water and [even] the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. You must be born-again (John 3:5,7b). It is only through YAHSHUA’S travail that man receives life eternal. Paul said that no mortal man should boast of his own merit to acquire salvation (I Cor. 1: 29). YAHSHUA, the only Way, Truth and the only life Giver, paid for our salvation in full through His travails before and when on the cross.

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The Antichrist As We Do Not Know Him (part 2)

(Revelation 13; Daniel 7)

Judas, the antichrist who is to come, has been on the scene since the time he betrayed YAHSHUA. Reading about Judas’ accounts, sometimes, we are not able to connect the dots from YAHSHUA’S words to the prophecies from the Old Testament, because we read them as History only. However, when we study to know God’s purposes, He reveals the connective truth to us. In this case, the key words are heels or heel, son of perdition, and devil, as in His priestly prayer, YAHSHUA connected the prophecies from the Old Testament to the New Testament by saying, While I was with them (disciples), I kept and preserved them (disciples) in Your name. Those You have given Me I guarded and protected, and not one of them has perished or is lost except the son of perdition [Judas Iscariot- the one who is now doomed to be lost], that the Scripture might be fulfilled. This is in reference to Psalm 41:9 which says Even my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. And in John 13:18, YAHSHUA again defines which Scripture He was talking about when He said, I am not speaking of and I do not mean all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, He who eats My bread with Me has raised up his heel against me. Twice YAHSHUA mentions the same prophecy uttered by David. Another prophecy we connect with YAHSHUA’S words is the first prophecy given to man in the garden of Eden: I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her Offspring; He will bruise and tread your head underfoot, and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel (Gen 3:15).

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Joseph and the Seven Years

(Genesis 41)

Pharaoh had two dreams two of the same. It is a dream of prophetic extension to the end times. God revealed to a Gentile “what He is about to do” and is going to do in the far future. Seven fat cows and seven undernourished ones; seven ears [of grain] plump and good; seven ears withered and thin were Pharaoh dreams, which caused him unsettledness of spirit. He was eager to understand the dreams, but not one of the magicians or wise men of Egypt could interpret them.

Two full years had passed since Joseph had interpreted the butler’s dream while both were in jail. The butler promised to mention him to Pharaoh when released from jail. But as it was, he forgot Joseph’s request and went on with his life. However, God hadn’t forgotten him. His purpose for Joseph’s life was going to be fulfilled in His time. Pharaoh’s dreams were the link to get Joseph out of jail. Not one day late, not one day early. He was only seventeen when sold to the Egyptians; thirteen years of struggles and unfairness toward him had passed. God in His sovereignty saw fit to exalt Joseph when he was ready. At the age of thirty, he was presented to King Pharaoh, who exalted him to greatness.

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They Took The First Step

When Moses and the Israelites left Egypt, they faced two walls of great magnitude- the Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptians army behind them. How were they to flee in that predicament? Easy. Fear not; stand still and see the salvation of the Lord which He will work for you today. The Egyptians you have seen today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace and remain at rest (Exodus 14:13-14). These were Moses’ words to the Israelites. Then the Lord told Moses, Tell the people to go forward. Lift up your rod and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the Israelites shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea (vs. 15b-16). Moses had to lift up his rod, stretch out his hand over the sea, and divide it. These three things Moses had to do for the Israelites to go forward on dry ground. It all depended on him for things to happen and salvation to come to the young nation of Israel. Moses was a doer of the command of YAHWEH. At His command, Moses took the first step and YAHWEH’S power was visible for all to experience their salvation. The Egyptians, as he had said, you see today, you shall never see them again. Israel was saved and the Egyptians came to know and realize that YAHWEH was the Lord, throughout the land, for all those who pursued Israel drowned.

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