The Abomination

Matthew 24:3 ESV 

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Matthew 24:15-16

“So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

Mark 13:19-20

For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days.

Jesus speaks to His disciples of the latter days, or the end of the age. The context of the exchange is from the perspective of God’s elect, the Jews, and His chosen city of Jerusalem. The Gentiles have not been grafted into the kingdom of heaven at this point. The surrounding nations are fueled by the hatred of the dragon for the elect of God. Israel is at the center of the great tribulation. 

The Antichrist won’t be waving a sign; he will be the sign. An abomination. 

Jesus connects the Book of Daniel with the end of the age, or the day of the Lord, with the abomination of desolation to come.  

Luke 21:20-24

“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

When Jerusalem is surrounded by armies, desolation is near. The time of the surrounding nations has yet to be fulfilled. The grapes of wrath await their final trampling. 

Leaving The Sycamore

Luke 19:5-10 ESV 

And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

A sycamore was all known as a false fig tree. It produces fig-like fruit that is inedible. The children of Abraham are referred to in Scripture as a fig tree planted by the Lord. Their fruit as a people was like that of a sycamore tree. It was not the fruit the Lord was looking for. They once walked with the Lord, but had lost their way. Jesus came first to the house of Israel to save that which was lost. 

Jesus told Zacchaeus to hurry down from that false tree because Jesus is the tree of life. Zacchaeus perceived this, came down the tree, and received Him joyfully. His change was based on something. 

This is a parable which may not seem like one on the surface. Going deeper in the word has its reward. Jesus is the word of God. He has come to stay in our house and is here today. Hurry!

The Substance Of The Sabbath

Colossians 2:16-17 ESV 

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

Mark 2:27-28

And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

The substance of Sabbath is resting in Christ. It is when we are made in His image that His work is done. That is when the seventh day of creation begins. 

Genesis 2:1-3

The Seventh Day, God Rests

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

Making The Leap

A squirrel will leap from one branch to another without thought. 

That same innate knowing allows man to leap from our natural life to the life of God. 

The glory of a squirrel is different than the glory of a man. 

Casting Fire

Luke 12:49-51 ESV 

“I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.

God is creating man in His image. He is doing this through His Son who is the light of the world. 

Satan opposes this by conforming man in the image of the world which is in darkness without the light. 

We are creations of one sort or the other. The separation of light and darkness will result in the the division of the wheat from the tares and the sheep from the goats. 

This is the division that comes with the light of the fire of the Holy Spirit. That fire is ablaze on the earth and the darkness cannot overcome it. 

Until In Death We Meet

Jesus came to us where we are

Here in the shadow of death 

We walk in great darkness 

Stumbling toward the yawning grave 

He reached us in His death 

To meet with us in ours 

To show us the way out 

And that He is the way 

To rise from the grave of the dead

And walk among the living 

Leaving the boundary of finite man 

For the life of infinite God 

From Impossible To Possible

Mark 10:17-27 ESV 

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

Man cannot save himself. No one is good other than God. We can observe all the commandments of the law and still fall short of salvation. 

The only way to obey the Lord is to lay everything we have and are at His feet and then follow Him. We all have the great possession of our life. How hard it is to submit that life to someone else, even to Jesus. Especially for the promise of life we can’t see. Yet this is what Jesus asks from each of us. This is the way of faith. We cannot depend on ourselves to get us where we need to be. 

For many the price will be too great and they will turn away. Who then can be saved? The one with God. Let us be that one. It is more than possible, it is doable. 

Like Him

Romans 6:5

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

1 John 3:2-3

Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Jesus placed Himself on the cross to free us from sin. We join Him on that cross to cast off sin and avail ourselves of His mercy by receiving that gift. We are then freed to walk with Him. We must walk with Him to sit with Him on His throne. 

When we pass from death to life, we are reborn into the life of God. We are transformed by the renewing of our minds until we are ready for the transformation of our bodies. 

We will be like Him. In resurrection and life. 

Kingdom Fruit

Luke 17:20-21 ESV 

Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

His kingdom has come and is coming. Our witness is the fruit of the Spirit in our lives and those of others. It is the union of His Spirit with us. 

His Work Is Our Rest

Matthew 11:28-30 ESV 

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

The work of the Lord is in the soul. It is the transformation of the spirit of man to enable the fruit of the Holy Spirit to appear. The Lord provides the way and it is up to us to take His yoke and walk with Him. For that we must say yes, and keep saying yes. 

His burden is light because He has broken the chains of sin that weighed heavily on our souls. The freedom we find in His light can only comprehended once we are redeemed from the burden of darkness. 

His work is our rest. 

Separation

Luke 12:49-51 ESV 

“I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.

The fire cast on the earth may be viewed as a function of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost as tongues of fire on the disciples. That was the day of beginning when a new body of Christ became manifest. Out of the body of mankind a new form of mankind began to form, grow, and take shape in the womb of the world. Its birth will come when the sons of God are revealed as the Lord has determined. 

Jesus was baptized with water, Spirit, and death, which lead us in the way of life. These are the elements used to separate the light from darkness and enable the creation of man in the image of God. 

Blessed

Luke 11:27-28 ESV 

As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

A son of man is born and nursed of a woman. 

A son of God is reborn from above and nursed by the word. 

Blessed are those who experience both. The angels can only look on in wonder. 

Everlasting

Genesis 17:7-8 ESV 

And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”

God is everlasting. If anyone would know what this means, it would be the everlasting one. When He says He will make an everlasting covenant, I suspect it would be everlasting as He is everlasting. 

Canaan belongs to Israel. God gave them the deed for the land and it is their birthright. God has given His word and it is written on the flesh and hearts of His people.  

Genesis 17:11-13

You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.

Place Of My Rest

Isaiah 66:1 ESV 

Thus says the Lord:

“Heaven is my throne,

and the earth is my footstool;

what is the house that you would build for me,

and what is the place of my rest?

Christ is building the house of the Lord. It cannot be built by the hands of man because it requires the living stones of those who are in the body of Christ. The stones are taken from humanity and refined until suitable for use in His temple. 

It is here God will rest when His work is done. 

Breathing With God

2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV 

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

The Holy Spirit is the breath of God. He breathes new life into our souls. 

We become transformed as we enter the mind of Jesus and begin bearing the fruit of the Spirit. 

Perfection in our walk takes place when we become one with the breath of God. 

From Within

Mark 7:20-23 ESV 

And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

The source of evil in the world comes from mankind, from the darkness of the heart. The light of creation seeks to enter that place and transform us into a new creature in the image of God’s nature. He can raise us from the deep to the light of His life. 

The things of God come from outside a man. He seeks to bring us together. 

They Come Together

Mark 7:20-23 ESV 

And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

The source of evil in the world comes from mankind, from the darkness of the heart. The light of creation seeks to enter that place and transform us into a new creature in the image of God’s nature. He can raise us from the deep to the light of His life. 

The things of God come from outside a man. He seeks to bring us together. 

Repent And Believe

The Old Testament is about repentance. 

The New Testament is about the salvation of the Lord. 

Repent and believe. 

This is the message of Scripture. This is the message of Jesus. 

The Distance

The Old Testament reveals the impossible distance between God and man. 

The New Testament reveals that God has crossed that distance to be with us. 

Two Witnesses

Matthew 7:12 ESV 

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

The Law and Prophets are summarized in one verse from the New Testament. What came before is not discarded and left behind, but fulfilled by the word of Jesus. It takes both to tell the story we need to hear.

It takes two witnesses to confirm a thing and they bring us the truth. They are the Son of Man and the Holy Spirit. 

Love Seeks Love

Psalms 8:3-4 ESV 

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,

and the son of man that you care for him?

It was not a need of God to pursue man. It is an expression of His nature. When we are made in the image, love will be our response. The question of what is man that he would be considered by God is answered by the nature of the Lord. 

Love seeks love, as deep calls to deep. 

Your Faith Has Saved You

Luke 7:50 ESV 

And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

There is nothing we can do to save ourselves, yet our salvation relies on us. 

Jesus is in the middle of what that means. 

The End Of The World

I can tell you how the world will end. You will die. 

You can stop there, or you can go on to life. 

Jesus has made a way. He is the beginning and end. 

Sects And The Church

There were numerous sects of Christianity soon after Jesus ascended into heaven. Today we call them denominations. They are offshoots from the Church known as the body of Christ. 

They have their own recipes for the bread of life based on interpretations, traditions, and their preferred flavoring of the gospel. The closer they adhere to the original recipe that is Christ, the less harm is done to those who believe. 

The word given by the Holy Spirit comes from the Son who speaks the words of God. The Church is comprised of those united by the Spirit. Any other church organization is a derivative of the original. 

Whatever fellowship you find yourself in, make sure you are in in the Church of the body of Christ. He ascended into heaven. He is the only one. If we are in the body of Christ, so shall we. 

In The Dark

Matthew 6:22-23 ESV 

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

Until you’ve seen the light, the darkness is just fine. 

Fragrance Of Our Lives

God is not the only witness to the pleasing aroma of our lives given to Him. It travels to those around us who we can’t see. While we and others may not even be conscious of its presence or the impact it has in the world, it declares the wonder and glory of the Lord as does all creation. He is doing a new thing in us. 

Sometimes all that is needed is to close our eyes to smell the roses. 

No words are necessary, for we have the word. 

Dissolved

2 Peter 3:10-13 ESV 

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godl iness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

The fire Jesus began on the earth will extend to heaven before all is done. The Greek word translated as “dissolved” carries the meaning of untied and laid bare. Our garments will come off and our works subjected to the fire of God to see if they survive. 

We will all stand before the Lord with everything we are fully exposed. There will be no place to hide and no covering within reach. He sees and knows all things and His judgement true. 

Righteousness only applies to God and man. We come together with the exchange of flesh and Spirit. We will be the new heaven and earth as we become one with Him. 

One

One is a lonely number unless you’re one with God. 

He’s Been There

Jesus experienced life of a man before we experience the life of Christ. He has been where we are before taking us to where He is. He can completely and uniquely relate to us. He has been at the beginning and the end of who we are, the broad range of the natural creation to the new creation of man in His image. The journey has begun. Let’s follow Him. 

The Same One

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 ESV 

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.

The Spirit, the Lord, and God are one and the same. When we become one with Him, we become part of the same one. 

He is three in one. 

We are many in the one. 

It is the same one.