I've lost sight of the power of the resurrection. One of the most defining moments of Jesus' life and ministry have somehow gotten lost in the mix of "being a Christian". I believe that at times, I've stopped worshipping the Word and begun worshipping the word. I really want to make that distinction clear; I have exalted the word of God above God himself and begun serving the creation rather than Creator.

I was reading through John this morning through the death and resurrection of Jesus and it hit me how powerful those moments had to be between Jesus and his disciples after he rose from the dead. To see the fulfillment of everything that had been prophesied and to see the one you have loved so intimately standing in front of you after dying in such horrific fashion...wow. What went through their minds? The joy. The fear. 

He's alive. He lives. The Savior lives. And because He lives, so do I.

Well, Paul later goes on to say that a body of flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. What kind of body can inherit the kindom of God? It would seem that this would be the "Spiritual Body."

My attempt to reconcile some sort of Body comes first from Job where he states, " For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God." (Job 19:25-26) I take this to mean that the spiritual body will include our flesh.

In the New Testament we can also see the word "quicken" in reference to the resurrection. Take this reference from John: " It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63) The word quicken means to make alive. Another reference to this word would be found in first Peter where it says the following statement: "Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead." (1 Peter 4:5) Here when you look at the reference of quick and dead you can see that quick is the opposite dead, which one can assume to be "living" or alive.

Let me make my conclusion then. In the mortal life we all go through, we are quickened by our blood. That is our life, it is what makes us mortal. However, after the resurrection we will be quickened by the spirit, thus complying with both what Paul said as well as what Job said. The resurrected body will be flesh and Spirit, not flesh and blood. I believe that the "spiritual resurrection" is indeed a very physical thing.

But, I really want to know what everyone else has to say. I really don't know what protestant think about the resurrection, nor do I really know about any other churches views on this subject, other then my own. I would love to know what you all think the spiritual body means.

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In the following passage from the book, Wright is commenting on I Corinthians 15:58:

Paul, we remind ourselves, has just written the longest and densest chapter in any of his letters, discussing the future resurrection of the body in great and complex detail. How might we expect him to finish such a chapter? By saying, “Therefore, since you have such a great hope, sit back and relax because you know God’s got a great future in store for you”? No. Instead, he says, “Therefore, my beloved ones, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.”

"What does he mean? How does believing in the future resurrection lead to getting on with work in the present? Quite straightforwardly. The point of the resurrection, as Paul has been arguing throughout the letter, is that the present bodily life is not valueless just because it will die. God will raise it to new life. What you do with your body in the present matters because God has a great future in store for it. And if this applies to ethics, as in I Corinthians 6, it certainly also applies to the various vocations to which God’s people are called.

What you do in the present–by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbour as yourself–will last into God’s future. These activities are not simply ways of making the present life a little less beastly, a little more bearable, until the day when we leave it behind altogether (as the hymn so mistakenly puts it, “Until that day when all the blest to endless rest are called away”). They are part of what we may call building for God’s kingdom."

Years ago, I saw a person actually die. He was a stranger to me, but both he and his daughter taught me an important faith lesson.

Podcast version here

Job 38:17        Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

It was the first time that I saw someone actually die and he was a stranger to me. I had just started as a part-time chaplain to a local hospital and received a call very early one Saturday morning.

“Can you come and help a patient’s family member?” a nurse asked. “She’s all on her own and has asked for a minister to be with her. Her dad is dying”

It took me about fifteen minutes to get ready. I was at the hospital within half an hour. A young woman was in a side room sitting next to her father’s bed. He was an old man that I had never seen in my life before. He looked tired and weary. She looked exhausted and frail.

“Thank you for coming, “she quietly said.” I just needed someone to be here. I didn’t want to do this on my own.”

We talked for a couple of minutes and I read some scripture. Time passed so slowly. Her father was breathing intermittently and the young woman clasped his hand. She told her dad that she loved him and once or twice she tenderly stroked his hair.

And then the moment came. His face slightly changed color and the breathing stopped. It was very peaceful. The young woman quietly sobbed. I read from Psalm 23 and said a soft, comforting prayer. She graciously thanked me for being there and then the nursing staff arrived to take care of the body. The young woman thanked me once more and allowed me to quietly leave. I never saw her again and to this day I do not know their names. But the woman and her father taught me a lesson: death does not need to be feared and dying can be very peaceful.

That’s why I’m still a minister today and it’s also why I preach the Good News. Jesus has defeated death and His great victory vanquishes all of our fears. Christ not only saw the gates of death; He took them apart forever. We may pass away but once on earth, but death no longer imprisons us, for Jesus has won our eternal freedom.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, You are the Savior of our souls and the Deliverer from death. You grant us an everlasting opportunity to be reunited with our loved ones in the holy realms of God. We can never repay the immortal debt that we owe to You, but we will praise Your Name forever. Amen.

"When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out.' The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.'"  (John 11:43-44; ESV)

A humbling fact of my life is that I have three children.  I say "humbling" because, as many parents know, there are days when it seems no matter how much you ask, urge, cajole, or beg them to do something, they will fight you every bit of the way.  There are days at my house where I can say "JUMP!" and all I hear are crickets chirping.  To put it bluntly, they don't always obey my every command; at least not the first time.  Even more humbling is the fact that I own a cat.  If I thought the children were obstinate and unresponsive, the cat takes it to a different level.  I get the impression that the cat looks at me with a "Are you talking to me?" look on his face.  The fact of the matter is the longer you walk this earth, the more you slowly realize just how powerless you are to affect the world.

This truth is no more evident regarding the issue of death.  Unless I'm mistaken, the death rate is still 100%.  We will all eventually die, and there is nothing we can do to stop it.  We can attempt to delay it, but death will catch up to us sooner or later.  It often amazes me the lengths people will go to cheat death.  You have the fitness freaks that monitor every single gram of food they take in and who exercises feverishly in order to improve their quality of life and extend their time here on earth.  Then there are the cosmetic surgery junkies who spend thousands of dollars in order to keep their bodies looking young.  All of this in a vain attempt to deprive the Grim Reaper his prize.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not down on healthy living, and if people want to spend their hard earned cash on plastic surgery, more power to them.  But as Jesus said, "Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?"  Even the healthiest person in the world can still be hit by a bus and die.

When faced with the inevitability of death, many of us, for all intents and purposes, ignore it.  We don't focus on it because there's nothing we can do to stop it.  If we can't cheat death, better to make the most of our lives and not dwell on the certainty of death.  If taken to a logical extreme, this is the mentality Paul spoke of in his first letter to Corinth when he wrote, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."  We might as well live it up!  If death is going to eventually claim me, I might as well go with a drink in my hand and a smile on my face!

Here's the bottom line in all of this:  We fear death!  We fear death because we don't really know whether or not death is the end of all things, or the doorway to another plane of existence.  Philosophers have grappled with this issue for centuries, and for all their philosophizing we have no clue what happens once we "shuffle off this mortal coil."  Therefore the fear remains and we greatly grieve the loss of friends and loved ones who die.

What does the Bible have to say about all of this?  The Bible has a lot to say about death and the afterlife!  We have been progressing through the Gospel of John, and we have been camping out in John 11 that last few sessions.  The 11^th chapter of John's gospel contains the story of Jesus raising his beloved friend, Lazarus, from the dead.  Let's recap the story.  Jesus gets the news from his close friends, Mary and Martha, that their brother, Lazarus, is gravely ill.  Jesus makes his way to Bethany and by the time he arrives, Lazarus has been dead for four days.  While comforting the grieving sisters, Jesus tells Martha a deep spiritual truth; namely that he is the "resurrection and the life," and that anyone who believes in him (Jesus) will not die but attain everlasting life through him.  We now come to the moment of truth.  Jesus is about to perform the greatest miracle of his earthly ministry short of the resurrection itself.  In the passage before us today (John 11:38-44), Jesus will utter three commands and a prayer.  Let's look at each of them in turn. 

The first command is to the crowd to roll the stone away from the tomb (v. 39).  In those days when people died, they were wrapped in linen cloths and typically embalmed.  The dead body was then place in a tomb hewn out of the side of a mountain or hill.  A large circular stone was rolled over the opening of the tomb to keep robbers and animals out of the tomb and to keep the stench of a rotting corpse in the tomb.  After about a year, when the body has fully decomposed, the bones of the dead person were placed in an ossuary (or a "bone box") and placed back into the tomb.  Now when Jesus utters his first command, Martha (the practical one of the two sisters) tells Jesus that Lazarus has been dead four days and there will be an awful stink if the tomb was opened.  Translation:  Lazarus was dead, really dead, and there was no chance of resuscitation. 

There was a hesitation at the command of Jesus (much like my kids as mentioned above).  Why the hesitation?  One is left to speculate.  My guess is that unlike other recorded instances where Jesus raised someone from the dead, Lazarus, as mentioned above, was really dead.  The other miracles could probably be explained away as resuscitations, but there was no hope that Lazarus could be resuscitated.  Martha, and presumably the others, still had not grasped the true reason why Jesus bothered to come.  Jesus didn't come solely to console Mary and Martha, or to pay his last respects to Lazarus.  He was there to display the "glory of God" (v. 40).  When Jesus gives the great "I AM" statement in vv. 25-26, Martha is still thinking of the resurrection at the last day.  Jesus tells her to believe in him and she will see God's glory revealed.

Jesus then begins to pray to the Father in vv. 41-42.  The purpose of the prayer and the purpose of the miracle are so that people will see and believe in Jesus.  That is the purpose of the entire Gospel of John (20:31).  He is praying for people to see the miracle and believe in him, and thereby obtain eternal life through him.  This raises a general point to be said about Jesus' miracles as a whole.  Jesus never performed his miracles to attract a crowd; this wasn't the 1^st century equivalent of the Greatest Show on Earth.  Jesus' miracles served one purpose and one purpose only:  To display the glory of God!

The second command Jesus utters is the command for Lazarus to come out of his grave (v. 43).  Jesus demonstrates his complete mastery over life and death by calling out in a loud voice to a man who is clearly dead.  Unlike the people who were alive and initially balked at Jesus' command to roll the stone away from the tomb, Lazarus was immediately obedient to Jesus' command (I guess dead people are more obedient than people who are alive).  It was St. Augustine who quipped that Jesus had to call Lazarus by name otherwise the entire graveyard would have come forth!  I cannot image the awe people must have felt at witnessing this clear and obvious miracle (if there is a Blockbuster Video in heaven, this is one of the first videos I'm checking out)!  A man who had been dead four days and would have already begun the process of decomposition was restored back to life by a verbal command of Jesus.  Only a fool could ignore this obvious display God's glory.  As we will see next time, even the Pharisees couldn't deny this, which leads them to devise a plot to kill Jesus. 

The third a final command was for the people to unbind Lazarus and let him go.  It would have been very difficult for Lazarus to move being wrapped in his grave clothes.  It is interesting to note that this third command is immediately obeyed by the people.  It is also interesting to note that Jesus involved the crowd in this miracle.  Could Jesus have command the stone to roll away from the tomb?  Of course!  Could Jesus have commanded the grave clothes to "magically" fall away?  Of course!  Yet he brought the people into this miracle.  They were the ones who rolled the stone away; they were the ones who removed the grave clothes.  This is a perfect illustration of how God works.  God doesn't do the things that we can do ourselves; he only does the thing that we can't do ourselves.  By doing this, Jesus was building the faith of the people present.  We do all we can do on our own, and then trust God for the part we can't do.  To remove the stone and to remove the grave clothes would have been cool and would have added to the spectacle, but Jesus wasn't interested in making a spectacle; he was only interested in what?  Displaying the glory of God!

Bottom Line:  I don't typically like to allegorize Scripture.  I think it's a bad hermeneutic and can lead to all kinds of whacko interpretations of the Bible.  However, I cannot help by see this story as a prime illustration of what the new birth in Christ is all about.  Paul says in Ephesians 2:1-10 that we were all dead in our trespasses and sin, yet because of God's great love and mercy, he makes us alive in Christ.  As Peter says it, we are "born again to a living hope" (1 Peter 1:3).  Just as Lazarus was dead physically, we are all dead spiritually.  Just as Lazarus needed to be called out of his tomb, so do we need to be "called out of our tombs."  Just as the raising of Lazarus from the dead was an act of divine grace into which Lazarus had no input, so our spiritual re-birth is an act of divine grace into which we have no input.  Just as Lazarus had to respond to the grace of God by walking out of the tomb, so we also respond to the grace of God by walking in "newness of life" (Romans 6:4).  Jesus truly is the giver of life!

You stand before the hallway.  It is arched, and paneled with wood, glowing with inexplicable light, softly.  There is the basin, and the towel.  And you walk down it’s way, a gentle sloping way, a curving way. 

You enter into a large round room with a domed ceiling.  It’s walls are whitewashed, and light shines in through deeply set windows in the domed roof.  The floor is white, too: concrete, or chalk worn smooth.  There is a carpet, and a chair.  There is a hole, with ladder descending to below.  There is a stairway, circling up and around into the ceiling.  Both offset.  

You travel down, into the below: and you are in a tree, with small round windows offset.  You look out and see your pain.  You look through the window and see your childhood, and your terror.  You remember, and wonder about redemption.  And you could look, but you descend. 

And you are at a door, arched like the hallway: it opens onto an island, and you look up at the tree, without windows: broad and large, it has platforms and ropes, nets and a board & battened house, of sorts. 

And there is a lean-to. And there are shelves: and upon each shelf is all you have collected: the collectsion of your heart, the things gifted and granted to you, that you have found and brought here.  

And there are chairs under the lean-to.

And the hand of God picks you up out of the water; the hand of God sets you upright atop it; and your are praise, and you are heavy with the stuff of the Real.  And you are alive, here: inside yourself, having gone up into the place of all wisdom, and power, and glory: into foretasted resurrection, and all alive.

You are on the rock that the upward stair comes out upon.  And all around you is dazzling; and colors feel ripe, and fresh, as though all your vision has ever shown you before is stale, color.  You are in the place where color is borne; the place of true water and true sky and true trees.  And you stand and look out and you leap from the rock to the sky to the water; and you hit the water and the water passes through you, denser than you, more real than you, except that you are more real, too: and there is equality and balance in the space between all things: so you are here, alive, in the place where all things are possible and life strums and hums like a hummingbird, like the sound of thunder rising out from the ground.  And you could, in this place above the room, this place more real than reality, walk on thunder to the source of clouds, and sit there at the base of all things, and watch the host dance and rage, and sing with the trees praise.  “O praise him!  O praise him!”  And there the lion eats grass, and the bird spares the fly, and the fish leap high into sky, and nothing closes up the tear between the heavens.

Abby had barely survived the treacherous drive to Kaitlyn’s house through an ice storm. Then, forced to break in when she couldn’t find the key, she was immediately grabbed by someone in the dark. She gave her assailant the fight of his life…until his accusation that she was a
burglar told her a mistake had been made. Now, facing her opponent, she was overwhelmed by an electric attraction more intense than any she’d ever felt.

Gabriel was impressed by this fascinating spitfire. He also felt the most intense desire of his life–a relentless need so powerful it tore him apart. He understood immediately that Abby was the one–the female destined as his mate for life. But Abby wasn’t like the other females he’d been with. For one thing, she was human. Gabriel didn’t trust humans one bit. But the realization hit him–if he was to win Abby, he would have to win her trust…and Abby wasn’t going to make it easy.

Oooo, I'm very much looking forward to this one coming out November 1st!! And then one month later, Scions: Revelation is due out on December 1st.

Notice in V31: Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day). Stop here for a moment. The first word with the letter ‘S’ is the word Sabbath. The Jews were very much hung up about the Sabbath, as you know. The Sabbath is very important to the Jews, even today it is a religious day observed on Saturday as a day of worship and rest from work in Israel. Noticed here in v19 that it was the day of the preparation. This Sabbath was no ordinary weekly Sabbath but the text says this was a high Sabbath. In your NIV, it is called special Sabbath. There are some Sabbath which are exceptionally important which are high Sabbath – like the feast of the unleavened bread, the offering of the first fruits, sacrament days, communion days and this particular week was the Passover Sabbath which is high Sabbath. And noticed in v19, it was the day of the preparation. The preparation begins on Wednesday sunset to the Thursday to the Passover Sabbath on Friday; and these priest were supposed to be in the temple for the preparation but instead they were too busy planning and plotting and putting Jesus to death right until Friday morning. So they broke all the laws because killing Jesus was more important. It was unthinkable to violate these laws in exchange for murder and to make matters worse, they violated another old testament law found in Deuteronomy 21:23 – it was forbidden to hang dead bodies on during the high Sabbath. It was Friday the sixth hour when Jesus was crucified – meaning 12 in the afternoon. This was in full view of thousands and thousands of pilgrims who were jamming into Jerusalem for the Passover celebration, and imagine what they see while coming into the holy city on the hills of Golgotha – Jesus the famous teacher hanging with 2 criminals – this is not good. These priests were too busy to realise what had happen. They were priest, supposedly in the temple in the day of preparations on Wednesday till Thursday; and now seen putting Jesus on trial throughout Friday early morning and now putting him on a cross on Friday afternoon, the most holy day. The Sabbath was a system they created for their end, but Jesus whom they view as a trouble causer, and who spoke against their system is too important an agenda to miss out on this occasion and he must be silenced once and for all. No matter what the price or the cause, killing him is justified, and seemed to be doing God a favour. After all, Jesus is a threat to their power and their greed. So it was during a high Sabbath that all this took place.

Notice in V19, also that the Jews sought Pilate to do them another favour. If it is possible, could we quicken their deaths. Now these Jews were no ordinary Jews. They were the Sanhedrin. That is our second word beginning with the word ‘S’. The Sanhedrin is the supreme Jewish judicial, spiritual and administrative council in Jerusalem with 70 members with 1 high priest presiding over them. In our day, you could perhaps view them as the mullah or the ayatollahs who rule the land; or the grand council of the syariah council who decides everything from social life to spiritual life. The Sanhedrin who were the guardians of the temple, the teacher of God’s sacred law and the holy scriptures were so full of hatred and so full of jealousy and so full of resentment towards Jesus Christ that they wanted to break his bones to ensure his death. They were so filled with hatred that they did not know that Jesus was already gone from this world by the time Pilate gave in to their request. Throughout the gospel, these Jewish religious leaders were critical, they were judgmental and quick to condemn. They prayed aloud in public, loved the adoration from men and walks around with their long black robes. In John 8, they dragged a helpless woman to be stoned for adultery, to test Jesus; they excommunicated a man who was healed from blindness and say – how dare you lecture us, you were born in sin. They were judgmental and critical of Jesus’ disciples for not washing their hands during meals, they wanted to kill not only Jesus but Lazarus as well because they were saw the people all going to him, they were so full of hatred, they resorted to bribery in order to get at Jesus. They were all for the kill ever since Jesus began his ministry. And now, they sought Pilate to do what they wanted to do quickly – to break the legs of Jesus. This is to make sure Jesus is dead for sure so that there is no more issue about him coming back to haunt them, after all they heard him say many times that he will return, and secondly to saved their face from the embarrassment of executing a man during a high Sabbath, they need to bring it to an end quickly so that their bodies could be brought down and buried. Breaking legs during crucifixion is a common practice among the Roman soldiers, but to have a special request from the Sanhedrin was something new and abnormal, especially coming from a religious group. Must be shocking for the Roman soldiers to see how cruel and evil, coming from the Sanhedrin themselves. The soldiers would take a giant hammer, smashing the leg, causing them to sink down, unable to push up for air with their legs, they suffocate and die. That is basically what the breaking of legs are for. What an irony, isn’t it? To preserved a holy Sabbath, these men were made to die faster. And so they ordered their legs to be smashed. You know sometimes even today, we try to cover up our spirituality by making others pay a price.

The Sabbath, secondly the Sanhedrin and thirdly we come to the third word with the letter ‘S’ – the soldiers. Look at V 32So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him. When faced with the request of the Sanhedrin, the Roman Governor issued the orders to the soldiers to proceed with this inhuman task. And soldiers are soldiers. They carried out their orders like another one of those duties during crucifixions promptly and efficiently. No human feelings whatsoever, they came to the first criminal, swung hard with precision at their knees breaking one and then the other, as they scream in excruciating pain. Next they came to the other criminal and did the same. Both bodies dropped no longer supported by the legs, and their lungs could no longer expel the air which was inhaled and they struggled breathlessly for air. It is like drowning slowly. The historian Josephus wrote that crucifixion was so common in those days that an estimated 20,000 Jews were crucified during Roman rule. Such was the way people were punished, every day and every week someone would be hanging on a cross. But in John 19, there is one crucifixion that has become to us the most important act of all time.

And that bring us to the next word with the letter ‘S’, and the word is the savior. Look at v33 - but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. The order from the Jews are to quicken the death process. The result of breaking both legs as we saw will make it very fast and quick. When they arrived at the cross of Jesus, there was no more breath in him and so there was no need to break his legs. The soldiers order was to make the process of death quicker, and Jesus was already dead. This was a man from their view point that has captured the region’s attention and so much has been said about this one man. There is only respect because he gripped the nation like no other purely from his life and his teaching. Remember the Centurion in Matthew 27:54 – he has only respect and awe because Jesus was so different in life and so different even in death. Surely he was the son of God – did he believe?, well his words showed he did. This was the saviour whom has come to us all and these soldiers must have been kind of relief that they need not had to break the legs of a man whom they had come to respect, even fear. And so they drew the line at smashing the legs of a dead man, especially this dead man. I guess they were surprised too that he was already dead because death by crucifixion was never over in 6 hours. Jesus died at the ninth hour. 3pm.

And that is our next word with the letter ‘S’ and the word is the spear. In order to make quite sure that Jesus was really dead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with his spear. The flow of blood and water that followed satisfied the soldiers. There was no doubt he was dead. Isaiah 53 tells us so vividly that he was pierced for our transgression he was crushed for our iniquities. In Psalm 22:16 – the description was said of the Lord - For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. 17I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; 18They divide my garments among them And for my clothing they cast lots. Incredible piece of written prophecy word by word about the crucifixion of our Lord. It was a display of word by word accuracy of how the Lord’s bones were protected. Isn’t is so true, beloved that Satan and the forces of evil men combined tried to break the bones of our Lord and try to crush his life away but it is simply this – the Lord Jesus lays down his life himself and gave it up himself. He volunteered to be the sin offering and therefore he lays it down. Remember what he said John 10:17 – For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. 18"No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. In some sense you could say that it was not the religious leaders that killed him, it was not Pilate who order the execution, it was not the soldiers who carried out the execution, Jesus is simply laying down his life on his accord, and he now has the power to take it up again. No one can force it from him or take it away from him. The spear cannot do more than the crucifixion itself because neither one of those can take his life away. Jesus is the master planner, the initiator, he is here to fulfil the will of his father an when it was time to be lifted up, he laid it down on his own accord. The spear has no power to inflict anything on the son of man.

The next word is the statement. All these were recorded by John himself who wrote it all down personally. Detail by detail he was there from the start to the finish. He gave a statement – which is this – in V 35And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. In the most solemn manner possible, John testifies to the fact that what he has just recorded is the accurate and reliable statement of an eye witness. He was the closest disciple to the Lord Jesus and never left his side till the end. His statement was enough to compel the reader that this was exactly what has happened.

From these statements, we now have the scriptures. That is our next word with the letter “S”. The scriptures. V 36For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, "NOT A BONE OF HIM SHALL BE BROKEN." 37And again another Scripture says, "THEY SHALL LOOK ON HIM WHOM THEY PIERCED. These words were all fulfilled at Jesus’ death. Every prophecy came to pass when he died. Psalm 34:20 - 20He keeps all his bones, Not one of them is broken, you can also find it in Exodus 12:46 and Numbers 9:12. All these were fulfilled when Jesus died. It is coincidentally during the Passover ; and when the Jews went home to celebrate the Passover of God’s judgment on them during their captivity in Egypt when the angel of death passes by and they were pass over because of the blood of the lamb, Jesus death and his blood is now the Passover lamb, so that God would pass over the people’s sin because of the blood of the lamb of God. What a beautiful picture was the scene in Golgotha, and John who stood there watching the entire scene of salvation being re-enacted before him, understood the lamb of God, the Passover, the fulfilment of scriptures and what he had said all along in his three years of ministry. He began to fit it all together. Every word by word began to sink in..... ! This is scripture in the final stage, and the final picture will be even clearer when John in his last days, banished on the island of Patmos, received the final revelation from God. John say I testify it is true this is my statement because I was there to witness it.The next scene becomes a bit tricky. Whatever feelings of loss felt by the disciples, two secret disciples suddenly became open disciples. They seek to salvage whatever that was left of the situation. Remember they were secret disciples but the two of them were left helpless to turn any decision from the power of the Sanhedrin. V38After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. 39Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. Another prophecy was about to be fulfilled when Jesus was to be buried in a rich man’s tomb (Isaiah 53:9). It was Joseph of Arimathaea, an influential member of the Sanhedrin who would have authority and ready access to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. Nicodemus, the other secret member of Jesus was reputed to be the third richest man in Jerusalem, also came. You see, Calvary has now made all the difference in both of these men and now they came forward to salvage the battered body of Jesus and lovingly they took him down and wrapped his body gently for burial. Their love was him finally showed in the way they buried him. You could imagine they must have hugged the lifeless body of their dear Lord and cried their eyes out. There must be a great sense of shame and regret that they have no chance to show their affection until now, when he was gone. Nicodemus lavished his wealth on the body of Jesus. They gave him a king’s burial as far as they are concerned. Strips of linen cloth embalm with expensive spices – we were told a hundred pounds of costly mixed spices. Such was their love for their Lord.

Lastly, after they salvage the remains of the battered body of Jesus, they put him in the sepulchre. That is the last word for the day. 40So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.

author’s note:

The exhibit “Lucy’s Legacy - the Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia” will travel through nine American cities over the next six years.

I have mixed emotions about this exhibition of Lucy’s fossil bones. On one hand, I’d like to gaze into that deep well. On the other hand...

...there seems to me to be a lack of sacredness in such a blatant public display.
 

MATERNAL TENTACLES

Our forerunner
--Lucy--
was discovered in
an African savanna,
but recently
I looked down, peered within
and found the tiny skeleton
in my white wicker basket.

But I’ve decided not to tell anyone--
at least, not just yet--
consider my circumstance:
me, a man--hailing at some distant time
from the Caucasus mountains--
carrying
a small black
woman-child
in my belly.

Yes, I am pregnant
and the maternal shock brings up
the best protective instincts--
I’m determined to return
that fragile fetus
to life.

As I soothe her in my sling,
I can now identify with all
the other mothers
that lactate in the soul.
Yes--

I can feel my milk
slowly expanding--
I can not stop this spill--
I can not stop without drying--
I can not stop this spill
from spreading its tentacles
--albeit, tentatively--
beyond the borders of my domain--
desirous of touch, yet
still afraid:
          my feelers have encountered
          blunt objects before
          and been
          blunted.

But as I continue
this fledgling spreading
I believe Lucy will lose the grayness
around her lips
and the snail color beneath
her fingernails
will bleed back to pink.

Then I can open
this box without fear
of destroying her

and we can finally
recommence
our climb
up the mountain
of night song
and bright play.

© 2008, Michael R. Patton
dream steps
earnest audio

CHRIST,
THE MEDICINE
OF LIFE:
The Syriac Fathers on
the Lord’s Descent into Hades

by Irina Kukota

I really cannot beleive how well the online play works.  The room setup is easy to deal with and there is very minimal lag.  Sure there are a few cheap people out there playing with eddy and lily but for the main part the online world is pretty respectable.

I started a Tekken 5 online community at http://tekkenonline.ning.com.  Who knows if that will grow.

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to me the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

I Thessalonians 4:13-17 (ESV)

There are two things that comfort me in this passage. 

1. If we live by faith, we can die by faith.

We do not have to face death with fear. We believe Jesus died and was resurrected, we know we will be as well. We know death is not an end, but merely a transition. We are not abandoned by Jesus when we die. Rather, we go to be with Him and will always be with him. What a comfort.

2. There is more than this life.

Some days life is just frustrating. I wonder why anyone would remotely want to keep on dealing with it. The reason...there is more to life than this life. There is something worth striving for when this life is over. I don't want to give up because a victory is coming and I want to be on the winning side when it happens. 

Be comforted. Life is tough, but the goal waiting for us is worth everything we go through. Death may be hard, but for us it is a victory.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

The passage is Mark 10:17-31.  Here a rich man comes to Jesus and asks "what must I do to inherit eternal life"?  I dont know about you but I would love for someone to just come out and ask me that.  I would love to tell them all about the love of Jesus, the Cross, Resurrection, and the hipe of Heaven. At first it appears that Jesus skips the question because He was called the wrong name.  The man called Jesus "good teacher" and Jesus says no one is good.  (Yesterday I talked to a man who believes Jesus was seperating Himself from God here.  He believes Jesus was simply a prophet not God and he used this passage as his proof text.)

So the guy says to Jesus that he in fact has been good.  He has kept all the commands. "Teacher, all these I have kept since I was a boy."   Here is what gets me.

"Jesus looked at him and loved him."

Jesus know that this man was not ready to let go of everything to follow Him. Jesus know that this man would not "make a decision" to die to self and live for Christ.  But "Jesus looked at him and loved him".

Wow!!!  You know as I was talking to this guy yesterday, who know all about the Bible, it was so hard to simply love him.  I wanted him to believe like I do.  He believed in Jesus, and that He died on the cross for mans sin, but he didnt think Jesus was God.  He was Gods son, but not God.

This guy knocked on my door (he was looking for my neighbor) and then we stood in my drive way as he shared with me his beliefs.  I simply asked questions.  It was so hard to stand there and love.  I wanted to convince him what I believe.  Then I go into the house and read that "Jesus looked at him and loved him."

There is a banquet of information available on the Ascension process. Here are some of my favorite websites in no particular order. Use your own discretion ~ whatever resonates with you...

http://www.energeticsynthesis.com/

http://kerrieoconnor.com/

http://www.worldpuja.org/

http://www.whatsuponplanetearth.com/

http://www.masteringalchemy.com/

http://tut.com/

http://jonettecrowley.com/

http://www.heavenletters.org/gods-cosmic-loveletters-universe.html

http://messengerminibooks.com/

http://ascensionstgermain.com/index.html

http://www.lightflow.info/eng/index.php

I'll add more as I think of them...

And books I recommend on the Ascension

A Course in Miracles

The Ascension Series by Joshua David Stone

Celestial Voices, An Invitation to Ascension from the ArchAngels by Amethyst Wyldfyre (includes a review by Yours Truly!) available at http://amethystwyldfyre.com/

Oneness by Rasha

see the world puja site above for a wide variety of high vibe authors

As the Grand Illusion is dismantling

before our eyes,

The time is ripe for creating an authentic world rooted in Peace & Love... 

Commit to your Ascension

&

Self Mastery

Time is short. No longer are the days when a student can spend many years in contemplation and testing to become enlightened. As time accelerates, you have already been through your tests, and you know what you know. It is from this point that you must dedicate your very self and be-ing-ness to the Light. You know what time it is.

It is time to act.

~ Susan Sloane, Author of Adam, Awake

*I highly recommend drinking lots of purified water after these activations to flush the physical system, and a light snack for the ride home to assist in grounding.

Monday September 29 ~ new moon.

Tools & techniques; focus flower, shaman stone, galactic grounding, ancient aqua.

Tuesday October 14 ~ full moon

Tuesday October 28 ~ new moon

Tuesday November 11 ~ full moon, additional 1111 activations

Tuesday November 25 ~ new moon

Friday December 12  ~ full moon, additional 1212 activations 

Monday December 29 ~ new moon, this special celebration of the Christ and His gifts to us will be free of charge. 

All classes are $22 and begin at 7 pm at  

Dark Star Philosophia

14A Old Harbor Road (to the left), Rockport

darkstaronline.com 978 546 3976

Questions & details email me at sloane_9@hotmail.com 

or call 978 413 4308

See you then...In Love & Service, Susan

This address was prepared for the administration, faculty and staff, students and supporters of RTS Jackson.

I have come here tonight to talk about eschatology.

I wonder what you are thinking as I say that. Maybe you are thinking, “I wonder if he has his ministerial data form out with Roy Taylor because he is going to need a church after this talk...”

Or maybe you are thinking that this is just something we don’t talk about in public, and particularly at events like this. It is kind of like Uncle Earl who is a little eccentric. We love him but don’t really like to bring out into good company.

But I want to address tonight, not only eschatology but also I want to complicate the matter a bit and talk about eschatology and RTS. Now I will not:

•   Speak about this or that eschatological view and how we should or should not endorse them.

•   Nor will I talk about the esoteric views of some and how they are hurting the work of the Gospel or how they have impugned the Reformed faith.

No. What I hope to do is to focus on one thought and that is the thought that comes from 1 Corinthians chapter 15, the “resurrection chapter” that we hear read and preached on Easter so often. Let me read just a portion of that chapter:

”For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received; that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me: (1 Cor. 15.3-8).

”But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all” (1 Cor. 15.20-28).

I want to talk about three aspects of that passage and how it impacts RTS and each one of us in this room tonight.

From this passage I want to talk about the Resurrection of a Vision because...

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ brings Unlimited and Unimaginable Kingdom Vision.

 As Peter said at Pentecost, "daughters, young men, old men" will dream dreams and have visions.

In 1 Corinthians 15, St. Paul identifies the resurrection as the linchpin in the unfolding drama of redemption that is “of first importance.” This key event in all of human history is linked, by Paul, to the covenant promises related to the fall of Man and Paul will speak of Adam’s sin and the entrance of death. Christ’s resurrection brings about a new Adam and a new way of life. The Kingdom is underway. The new heavens the new earth are about to burst forth in time. “All things have become new,” Paul will tell us. And this resurrection extends from a faithful past to an amazing time in eternity future when the Son hands over the Kingdom to the Father that God might be all in all. What a glorious vision! From eternity past to the far reaches of eternity future, St. Paul stretches the limits of human understanding to cast a vision of glorious victory! And so too can we dream of such victory because of the new resurrection motif that exists in time. The resurrection stirs us to dream dreams and have visions!

And a vision came about, in the midst of a crisis, of a seminary...and so RTS was born when men of God drew restless and burdened over this. Not only were there those who questioned the resurrection, which as you see yourself unravels the entire program of God on earth, but they grew restless over training men in this Gospel truth to go and teach others also.

Resurrection begets resurrection thinking in the Kingdom of God. And so churches and planted, hospitals and orphanages are started, and yes, seminaries are founded.

From this passage I want to talk about the Growth of the Vision because...

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ Brings Undeniable and Unstoppable Kingdom Growth.

The Resurrection is the centering point, but the theological implications of the resurrection have now touched every area of life in the world;. The kingdoms of this world are becoming the kingdom of God and of His Christ as Jesus' gracious rule of love and light enters the lives of men and women through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. In the Book of Common Prayer there is a little vesicle, an article of simple faith that unites believers all over the world: “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.” This little article of faith has been uttered in Asia Minor, in Europe, in the British Isles and in America, and today is being uttered in tribal languages of Africa, of India, of China, and yes in the Middle East. The vision of the kingdom of God is here and growing.

And so too has RTS grown. So too has the mission of sending out pastors according to a method that is altogether Biblical led to His majesty in our midst. This is what we celebrate. This is who we are today. But if that were all there were to the story it would be a great story. But this is only the beginning. This is, to paraphrase Lewis, only the introduction to the book. The now will become the then and the Introduction will turn the page to the real story.

“When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all” (1 Cor. 15.28 ESV).

From this passage I want to talk about the Future of the Vision because...

The resurrection of Jesus Christ brings Ultimate and Inevitable Kingdom Victory.

This is where we are headed. Then, on that great Day, RTS will have realized its destiny. Then those three men who met and dreamed of a seminary will be fully vindicated that they were right in doing so. Then will Sam Paterson and Bob Cannada and Luder Whitlock and Ric Cannada and Guy Richardson and Dr. Kistemaker and Dr. Kelly and Dr. Thomas and Dr. Currid and Dr. Professor Frame and all of our faculty and all of our staff and all of our students realize their destiny; for on that Day, the work of RTS will be finished. Souls will have been saved, lives will have been transformed; generations upon generations will have been reached, baptized, taught the Gospel of Jesus, and taught others, and then the Kingdom that we longed for will have come and Jesus our Prince who redeemed us from the law of sin and death will be gloried and God’s vision will be complete and God shall be satisfied and we shall be complete in Him for Him forever.

Conclusion

But this is not just a vision that is passive. It is aggressive and active. It is the Gospel conspiracy in the world today. And I ask you not to merely give money, or give time, but to give your life...give your all...and give yourself in prayer. For in between the faithfulness of God yesterday and the glory of God’s vision tomorrow is one seminary student who needs your support and your help today.

This is our vision. This is our destiny.

The footage below was found on YouTube regarding the discovery of this bowl:

The report from the Christian Telegraph now follows:

Scientists find ancient bowl that may call Jesus a magician

In what is certainly to be a controversial speculation too hard for many Evangelical Christians to swallow, scientists claim they have found an ancient bowl that refers to Jesus Christ as a magician, reports Michael Ireland, chief correspondent, ASSIST News Service.

A team of scientists led by renowned French marine archaeologist Franck Goddio recently announced that they have found the bowl, dating to between the late 2nd century B.C. and the early 1st century A.D., that is engraved with what they believe could be the world's first known reference to Christ.

In an online article by Jennifer Viegas of the Discovery Channel posted to the MSNBC website, scientists say the engraving reads, "DIA CHRSTOU O GOISTAIS," which has been interpreted to mean either, "by Christ the magician" or, "the magician by Christ."

The MSNBC article says that if the word "Christ" refers to the Biblical Jesus Christ, as is speculated, then the discovery may provide evidence that Christianity and paganism at times intertwined in the ancient world.

"It could very well be a reference to Jesus Christ, in that he was once the primary exponent of white magic," said archaeologist Goddio, who is co-founder of the Oxford Center of Maritime Archaeology.

In her article, Viegas says that Goddio and his colleagues found the object during an excavation of the underwater ruins of Alexandria's ancient great harbor. The Egyptian site also includes the now submerged island of Antirhodos, where Cleopatra's palace may have been located.

Viegas says that both Goddio and Egyptologist David Fabre, a member of the European Institute of Submarine Archaeology, think a "magus" could have practiced fortune telling rituals using the bowl. The Book of Matthew refers to "wisemen," or Magi, believed to have been prevalent in the ancient world.

According to Fabre, the bowl is also very similar to one depicted in two early Egyptian earthenware statuettes that are thought to show a soothsaying ritual.

"It has been known in Mesopotamia probably since the 3rd millennium B.C.," Fabre said. "The soothsayer interprets the forms taken by the oil poured into a cup of water in an interpretation guided by manuals."

Fabre added that the individual, or "medium," then goes into a hallucinatory trance when studying the oil in the cup.

"They therefore see the divinities, or supernatural beings appear that they call to answer their questions with regard to the future," he said.

Viegas writes that scientists theorize the magus might then have used the engraving on the bowl to legitimize his supernatural powers by invoking the name of Christ.

Goddio said, "It is very probable that in Alexandria they were aware of the existence of Jesus" and of his associated legendary miracles, such as transforming water into wine, multiplying loaves of bread, conducting miraculous health cures, and the story of the resurrection itself.

Viegas explains that while not discounting the Jesus Christ interpretation, other researchers have offered different possible interpretations for the engraving, which was made on the thin-walled ceramic bowl after it was fired, since slip was removed during the process.

Bert Smith, a professor of classical archaeology and art at Oxford University, suggests the engraving might be a dedication, or present, made by a certain "Chrestos" belonging to a possible religious association called Ogoistais.

Klaus Hallof, director of the Institute of Greek inscriptions at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy, added that if Smith's interpretation proves valid, the word "Ogoistais" could then be connected to known religious groups that worshipped early Greek and Egyptian gods and goddesses, such as Hermes, Athena and Isis.

Hallof additionally pointed out that historians working at around, or just after, the time of the bowl, such as Strabon and Pausanias, refer to the god "Osogo" or "Ogoa," so a variation of this might be what's on the bowl. It is even possible that the bowl refers to both Jesus Christ and Osogo.

Fabre concluded: "It should be remembered that in Alexandria, paganism, Judaism and Christianity never evolved in isolation. All of these forms of religion (evolved) magical practices that seduced both the humble members of the population and the most well-off classes."

"It was in Alexandria where new religious constructions were made to propose solutions to the problem of man, of God's world," he added. "Cults of Isis, mysteries of Mithra, and early Christianity bear witness to this."

The bowl is currently on public display in the exhibit "Egypt's Sunken Treasures" at the Matadero Cultural Center in Madrid, Spain, until November 15.

Report from the Christian Telegraph

15 minutes (actual teaching time – more time should be allotted for the plants to change.)

Description

This object lesson helps participants understand that Jesus rose from the dead after three days. It takes at least an hour for the plants to show signs of life, so you will want to conduct this object lesson at the beginning of class. If you are teaching a multi-day program, you can do PART 1 on the first day and PART 2 on the second.

Materials

· Several Resurrection Plants (a.k.a. The Rose of Jericho). They can be ordered online or through a local nursery.

· A shallow dish or bowl for each plant.

· A little water for each dish or bowl.

· Ziplock bags (optional)

Preparation

Put a little water into the bottom of each bowl.

Practice the script.

Procedure

PART 1

Use the following script (or modify to suit your needs):

· “I’m going to need a few volunteers.” (Select one volunteer per Resurrection Plant.)

· “I would like each of you to take one of these.” (Hand out plants to each child.)

· “What do you think that is?”

· “Would you agree that it looks pretty dead?”

· “Yeah, it looks dead to me, too, but I know something about these plants. They are very special.”

· “In front of each of you, there is a plate/bowl with a little water in it. I would like for each of you to put your plant in that water.”

· “We are going to leave those there for a little bit and see what happens.” (Allow volunteers to return to their seats and continue with other parts of your lesson. The plants will need at least an hour to show a difference.)

PART 2

Use the following script (or modify to suit your needs):

· “Let’s take another look at those plants.” (Ask your volunteers to rejoin you up at the front.)

· “Take a look at your plant. What do you think?” (Have them hold up their plants so that everyone can see them.)

· “Isn’t that amazing! Didn’t they look dead before?”

· “We call them Resurrection Plants, because ‘resurrection’ means to ‘come back to life.’”

· “That’s just what Jesus did. He died and was buried, but three days later, He came back to life! These plants are a good reminder that Jesus is risen!”

· “God puts many things in nature to remind us of Him and of His truths. The resurrection plants are an example of that. Can you think of any other examples from nature that teach us about God or His truth?” (The children might have all types of ideas, but here are a few to help if they can’t think of any:

o At night, the sun goes away, but the moon continues to reflect its light (Jesus is like the sun, and we are like the moon.)

o Sheep follow their shepherd just like Jesus wants us to follow Him.

o Dogs know how to show unconditional love. Even if you forget to feed them one day, they forgive you right away.)

· “Can anyone think of anything that dies and comes back to life?” (Take responses. If they struggle, you can remind them that seeds from fruits and plants have to die and be buried in order to grow into the trees and plants that they one day become.)

· “So God has left all these things for us as reminders of what His Son did.”

· (Allow volunteers to return to their seats. You can let them put the plants in ziplock bags and take them home, or you can let they dry out so that you can use them again later.)