Contradiction

Hello again!

This is what god gave me today in His word:

“The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void. (Luke 16:16-17)

It appears that Jesus has just contradicted Himself, and in the time it takes to draw a breath too.-The Law and the Prophets were valid until John came, but it’d be easier for Heaven and Earth to pass away before one dot of the Law becomes invalid? Come again? Not only that, but as Paul tells us that all Scripture, including the Law and the Prophets, is God breathed, and useful for numerous tasks [2 Timothy 3:16], he seems to support Jesus’ second assertion… But, is there perhaps some way to tell for certain what Jesus meant?

He meant exactly what He said, and Paul meant exactly what He said. We no longer have to obey the ten commandments because Jesus’ death and Resurrection has made us poor and spotless in God’s sight. However, the Prophet’s and the law aren’t meaningless. This is because of two reasons:

1. Because if you were to live a perfect life, you would indeed be saved apart from Jesus. The problem with this being that this is a physical impossibility. No matter how you look at it, even someone in the most ideal of circumstances will sin at least once in their life time. Just look at Adam and Eve.
2. We can still learn from them. By “learn from them,” I mean we can receive all the things which Paul said that we can learn from them, namely: teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

The point being this: first and foremost, the Bible doesn’t have any contradictions in it. Numerous people say that it does, but it simply does not; it’s all how you look at it. Secondly, though we can learn from the law and the prophets, they cannot save us.

You are Loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

Jesus in Micah

Hello again!

Today we’re moving ahead a book from Jonah, to Micah. — This is what God gave me today in His word:

Hear, you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it, and let the Lord GOD be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. For behold, the LORD is coming out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place. All this is for the transgression of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? (Micah 1:2-5)

Look for a moment here at exactly how, and in what order, Micah phrases things:

First off, he tells of God in His temple. Then he tells of how “the LORD is coming out of his place”. Thirdly, he says, “and will come down and tread upon the high places of the Earth.” And this is followed by mountains melting under Him and valleys splitting open. Not only that, but Micah then tells us why and where this will happen: it will happen because of the transgressions of Judah and Israel, and it will happen at Jerusalem. Well, I don’t remember any of this happening ever? When did God step out of Heaven, for the transgressions of sinners? If you don’t mind, I would like to share with you a couple of verses that may make you see this in a new light:

And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). (Mark 15:22) – An interesting thing to note here is that Golgotha is right outside of Jerusalem. In addition to that, it’s a mountain… One could even call it a “high place.”

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. (Mathew 27:51-53)

Jesus Christ stepped down from Heaven; stepped down from His place, down to the high place on Earth, called Golgotha. And, when He stepped down to Golgotha, and was crucified, tombs broken open; the dead were raised to life (their Spirits flowed from on high back into their bodies, possibly in a slightly water-like way, we don’t know for sure), the valley of death was breached! And why did all of this happen? It happened because of sin; because of transgression.  And where did it happen? Right outside of Jerusalem. Jesus, one can rather safely assume, is the fulfillment of the prophecy Micah made.

The point being simply this: the Old Testament, no matter where, to some extent or other, speaks of Jesus. We’ve just got to find it.

You are Loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

The Old Order Has Passed On

Hello again!

This is what God gave me today in his word:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; (Isaiah 61:1-2)

So why again was the Spirit of the Lord on him? Not because he was brave; not because he was strong enough; not because he (Isaiah, the prophet who is speaking) was such a good boy. But because he was appointed by God to “bind the brokenhearted” and to  ”free the captives” (etc). I wonder how it is he did this; could it just possibly be that he had some deep knowledge into all things spiritual that just about no one has today? Yes, this has to be it, how else could he do all those things after all…

³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’^[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4)

Isaiah, the prophet, is speaking prophetically. He can’t actually do those things, but someone whose coming, will do all these things. “For the old order of things has passed away.” – Could Isaiah bring a new order of things? Could Isaiah bring a new law? A law that states that “It’s already been done, you don’t need to do anything now”? Only Jesus could wipe away every tear, only he could declare and receive the day of the Lord’s vengeance. Only he could comfort all who mourn. And only Jesus could change the old order of things (sacrifices, etc).

So what’s the point in saying all of this? The point is simply this; the old is gone, the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). The old prophet has been replaced by the new prophet, priest, and king. The one with the ability to change the old of order of the law to the new order of Christ.

You are loved!

Joshua Cleveland