Patterns of Jesus Christ hidden in the Old Testament
Does history repeat itself? World War 2 was about 30 years after World War 1. The COVID-19 pandemic was about 100 years after the Spanish flu. And workers lost jobs in the industrial revolution, and the invention of cars, computers and probably will do so with the invention of AI (Artificial Intelligence).
There are many prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament. They can be clear and direct or hidden and indirect. Today we are looking at the latter – patterns of people, objects and events in the Bible that relate to Jesus Christ.
We will see that some parts of Israel’s history are repeated in the life of Jesus. What is concealed in the Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament.
Explicit prophecy
Because we are looking at hidden prophecies, this means that we are not dealing with explicit prophecies of a coming Messiah. Here’s two examples of direct predictive prophecy.
First, God made a covenant with king David, promising him that his dynasty would be established forever and that one of his descendants would reign on his throne forever (2 Sam. 7:11-16). This was fulfilled with the first coming of Christ over 1000 years later. This prophecy for the “Messiah” coming as a king was repeated and expanded 300 years later by Isaiah (Isa. 9:1–7, 11:1–16). It includes the second coming of Christ which hasn’t happened yet.
Second, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” (Mic. 5:2NIV). This was fulfilled over 700 years later with the birth of Christ in Bethlehem.
These direct prophecies are better for apologetics than indirect prophecies.
Pattern prophecy
The main example of hidden prophecies of the Messiah are what I will call “pattern prophecies”. These are also called “types” or “typology” or “shadows” or “figures”. These patterns, revealed in the New Testament, are only evident in hindsight. The fulfilment is referred to as the reality (Col. 2:17, Heb. 10:1). Once we know the fulfilment, we can look back and see an example of this in the Old Testament.
They refer to historical people, objects, or events in the Old Testament which foreshadow (or prefigure) Christ and His work. There is a divinely intended similarity and an intensification in the fulfilment. The fulfilment is greater than the example.
Pattern prophecies are like metaphors taken from the Old Testament. For example, Jesus was called the Lamb of God. And you need to know something of the Old Testament to understand what that meant.
They are building a new house behind ours. An excavator was digging the foundations last week. They are following the architectural and engineering plans. There is similarity between the plans and the house. But the final house will be greater than the plans. Likewise, the fulfilment in Jesus is greater than the patterns we see in the OT.
Presuppositions
In the Old Testament we are dealing with divinely intended events that occurred thousands of years ago and divinely intended events that are predicted to occur in the future. So, we are dealing with history.
The Bible says that history is moving towards when Jesus will rule the universe. God’s plan is “to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ” (Eph. 1:10). God is working in history toward this goal.
God rules history – He arranges and directs events and people. God also reveals Himself and His purpose in historical events and actions. We will see that the patterns of history were illustrative and forward-pointing, portraying ahead of time the way God would work in history.
In the Old Testament, God’s people were predominately Jewish. In the New Testament, the Gentiles were included as well. And when Christ comes to reign for 1,000 years in the Millennium, He will put all things in order and fulfill all the purposes of God.
The relation of the Old Testament to the New Testament as essentially that of promises in the former and fulfillments in the latter. As shown in the schematic timeline, the law of Moses applied in the Old Testament and the gospels. After the death of Christ, it was replaced with God’s grace. At the rapture believers are resurrected to heaven. At the second coming Christ returns to rule over the earth.
Does history repeat itself? There were three creations – those in the time of Adam, and Noah, and Jesus.
Pattern prophecy according to Jesus
Jesus said, “These are the very Scriptures [the Old Testament] that testify about me … and you do not accept me … If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?” (Jn. 5:39, 43, 46-47). The Old Testament testified of Christ as the Messiah (Gen. 3:15; 22:18; 49:10; Num. 24:17; Dt. 18:15).
The Jews studied it, but they missed seeing Jesus as the Messiah. Simple knowledge of the Bible is not sufficient; we need to grasp its point and purpose.
After Jesus rose from the dead, He spoke to two disciples on the road to Emmaus: “He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures [the Old Testament] concerning Himself” (Lk. 24:25-27). Jesus is saying that all the Old Testament reveals information about Him.
Soon after He said, “’Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms [the Old Testament]. Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures [the Old Testament]. He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem’” (Lk. 24:44-47). Jesus is saying that each section of the Old Testament has information about His suffering, His resurrection, the good news that forgiveness of sins will be available through repentance.
Because He included the law of Moses, which does not contain a large quantity of prophetic material, it is likely that Jesus understood the law as pattern prophecy (typologically) and encouraged His followers to treat it in the same way.
The purpose of the law was to reveal our sinfulness. Jesus did not come to abolish Old Testament teachings but to “fulfill them.” (Mt. 5:17). He fulfilled the patterns (or types) like the sacrifices and the priesthood.
Does history repeat itself? The Jewish temple built by Solomon (completed in 959 BC) was rebuilt by Zerubbabel (completed 443 years later in 516 BC). But unlike patterns of Jesus, the second was not a grand as the first.
Pattern prophecy according to the disciples
Philip told Nathanael, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth” (Jn. 1:45). They believed the patterns were prophecies of Jesus in the Old Testament.
Does history repeat itself? Did you know that the first and second Jewish temple were destroyed on about the same day of the year (the 9-10 of Av, the 5th month) in 586 BC and AD 70. That’s over 650 years apart!
Pattern prophecy according to the New Testament writers
- The Ethiopian eunuch was reading from Isaiah 53:7-8. In Acts, Luke wrote, “Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus” (Acts 8:35). So, the suffering servant in Isaiah 53 is a pattern prophecy of Jesus.
- Paul wrote, “Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come” (Rom. 5:14). Adam is a pattern of Jesus. The same word (pattern) also used in 1 Cor. 10:6, 11. That’s why I’m using the term “pattern prophecy”.
- Paul write that the Jewish festivals and the Sabbath day “are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ” (Col. 2:16-17). The same word (shadow) is also used in Hebrews 8:5; 10:1. The “shadows” of the Old Testament, foreshadow aspects of Jesus Christ.
- “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason, it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship” (Heb 10:1).
The law was a “shadow” of the coming sacrifice of Christ for sin. It demonstrated the need for a payment for sin, but it only illustrated the need and did not give the cure. Old Testament sacrifices were a fading shadow of the cross of Christ. A shadow is not the real thing; it only gives a vague picture of the genuine thing. Christ paid completely the penalty for all sin.
Does history repeat itself? Did you see a pattern last Wednesday night? The Maroons won the State of Origin football game in the last 10 minutes although the Blues were leading and had dominated the possession and field position. This has happened so often before; you might think that it is divinely appointed! I don’t think so, but Queenslanders might disagree.
Pattern prophecy according to the prophets
In the context of praising God for His salvation Peter wrote, “Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven” (1 Pt. 1:10-12).
Here we see that God the Holy Spirit told the prophets what to write. But they did not fully understand all that they wrote. God intended a deeper meaning that was not intended by the human author. But they tried to understand God’s plan for the future. What they wrote was for the early believers in the first century and so it is for us as well.
What was predicted here? The sufferings of Christ, which concern His first coming. And the glories that would follow, which concern His second coming. Jesus came for two reasons – to suffer and die in our place and later to reign supreme.
Does history repeat itself? Not in the sense of reincarnation to be reborn into another existence on earth. Life is linear not circular, and our soul lives on for eternity.
We will look at the pattern prophecies in the Old Testament about Christ in three categories: people, objects and events.
- Patterns of Christ: People
Adam (Gen. 3:19; Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:21-22; 45-49)
Through Adam’s disobedience, sin, death and judgment came to everyone. But through Christ’s obedience (His death and resurrection), forgiveness, eternal life and resurrection comes to all believers. Adam was the leader of the old creation, but Jesus is the leader of the new creation. And Adam was the leader of sinful humanity, but Jesus is the leader of redeemed humanity.
A woman’s offspring (Gen. 3:15; Rom. 16:20) God promised to use a woman’s offspring to defeat Satan. This happened spiritually at the cross and will happen physically at the second coming.
Abel (Gen. 4:8-10; Heb. 11:4; 12:24)
The sacrifices of Abel and Christ were both acceptable to God. The murder of Abel cried out for justice and retribution, whereas the death of Jesus provided forgiveness and reconciliation.
Melchizedek (Gen. 14:18-20; Ps. 110:4; Heb. 5:6; 6:20; 7:1-18).
“resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever” (Heb. 7:3). He was both a king and priest of Jerusalem – this couldn’t happen in Israel because under their law the kings were meant to be from the tribe of Judah and the priests from the tribe of Levi. Melchizedek’s priesthood was like Christ’s priesthood but not like the Levitical priesthood. He was not a Levite, and his priesthood wasn’t limited to 25 years like there’s was (Num. 8:24-26).
“For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also” (Heb. 6:12). The law of Moses was replaced by the new covenant with Christ as the high priest. That’s why we don’t have separate priests in this church. Instead, we are all have access to God (like priests) and Jesus is the high priest whose sacrificial death provides that access to God.
Moses (Dt. 18:15-19; Jn. 6:14; 7:40; Acts 3:22; Heb. 3:1-5).
Moses delivering Israel from slavery in Egypt and Jesus delivers from the slavery of sin. Moses was the leader and mediator of the old covenant (the Law), but Jesus is the leader and mediator of the new covenant (of grace). They were both prophets – Moses prophesied that there would be a prophet like him who would come that Israel must listen to. And they both obeyed God, “He [Christ] was faithful to the one who appointed Him [God the Father], just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house” (Heb. 3:2).
The high priest (Heb. 2:17; 4:14 – 5:10; 6:20 – 8:2)
The high priest was the mediator between the Israelites and God. Once a year on the Day of Atonement he would go into the inner room of the temple to offer an atoning sacrifice for sins. Jesus is superior to the Hebrew high priests. He is a high priest in the order of Melchizedek. Christ never sinned and He will live forever. So, He only needed to offer one sacrifice for the sins of humanity. When He died, He sacrificed for sins once for all.
David’s suffering (Ps. 22; 69. Mt. 27:34-38; Jn. 19:23-24, 29).
The suffering and rejection that David described in Psalms 22 and 69 is applicable to the crucifixion of Christ. Jesus quoted, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Ps. 22:1). He was offered gall and vinegar (Ps. 69:21) and they cast lots for his clothing (Ps. 22:18). David’s suffering foreshadowed the suffering of Christ. And sometimes in Scripture, Jesus is called “David” (Ezek. 37:24).
Jonah (Jon. 1:17; Mt. 12:38-41)
Jesus told the Pharisees, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Mt. 12:40). And He told His disciples “that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (Mt. 16:21). The story about Jonah meant to communicate something about Jesus. That He would be resurrected on the third day after His death.
A king
The Old Testament promises Jerusalem both a humble king and a victorious king. The humble king is “Lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey (Zech. 9:9; Mt. 21:4-5). And that’s what Jesus did on Palm Sunday. Whereas Psalm 110:1 says The Lord says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”. Jesus said that this verse is about the Messiah. And the writers of the New Testament apply it to Jesus after His ascension to the throne of God (Ps. 110; Mt. 22:43-45; Mk. 12:36 -37; Lk. 20:42-44; Acts 2:34-36; Heb. 1:13). Since His resurrection, Christ has a position of great power and authority. He rules the universe and will subdue all enemies.
The suffering servant.
There are four “servant songs” in Isaiah in which the servant is the Messiah (Isa. 42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13 – 53:12). Matthew said that Jesus fulfilled the first servant song (Mt. 12:15-21). In the fourth servant song, the servant suffers and dies vicariously for the sins of the world but is ultimately vindicated and exalted. And it says that he was “despised and rejected” – Jesus was rejected by the Jews (Isa.53:3; Jn. 1:11). Philip told the Ethiopian that the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 is a pattern of Christ (Acts 8:32-35). Jesus is also said to be God’s servant in Acts 3:13, 26; 4:27, 30.
Preacher of good news (Isa. 61:1-2a; Lk. 4:16-21)
When Jesus taught in Nazareth He read Isaiah 61:1-2a and said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing”. The passage said that He was anointed to preach good news and to be the answer to people’s problems.
So, Jesus was foreshadowed by people in the Old Testament like Adam, the person who defeats Satan, Abel, Melchizedek, Moses, the high priest, David’s suffering, a king, the suffering servant, and the preacher of good news. He fulfilled all these roles.
- Patterns of Christ: Objects
Noah’s ark (Gen. 8:15-22; 1 Pt. 3:20-21)
The ark saved Noah’s family from God’s judgment when the earth was flooded. Believers are saved from God’s coming judgment through Christ’s death and resurrection.
Jacob’s ladder (Gen. 28:12; Jn.1:50-51).
Jesus told Nathanael “you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man” (Jn.1:50-51). Any Jew would be reminded of Jacob’s dream of a stairway from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it. Jesus is saying that He is the stairway or ladder between heaven and earth. He is the only mediator between God and humanity (1 Tim. 2:5). He is the door, and the way to God.
Objects related to the Exodus
The Passover lamb (Ex. 12:3-14; 1 Cor. 5:7; 1 Pt. 1:19-20)
Paul said that “Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed”. God’s judgment passed over the Israelites in Egypt as long as they had the blood of a lamb (without defect) sprinkled on their doorposts. The lamb’s death saved the life of the firstborn children. Not one of its bones were to be broken (Ex.12:46, Num.9:12; Jn.19:36). Likewise, Christ has been slain to deliver us from God’s judgment and His legs were not broken. His death saved believers from being eternally separated from God.
Manna (Ex. 16; Jn. 6:30-35)
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (Jn. 6:35). This was spoken in a conversation about manna that God gave the Israelites to eat for food in the journey from Egypt to Canaan. It sustained them physically. Jesus was saying that He can satisfy our spiritual needs. He provides spiritual sustenance.
The rock that provided water (Ex. 17:1-7; Num. 20:2-11. 1 Cor. 10:1-4)
When the Israelites needed water during the Exodus, God used Moses to provide it from a rock. Paul wrote “that rock was Christ”, which is a metaphor saying that Christ provided the water. The rock and the water represented Christ. He provides “living water” for our spiritual sustenance (Jn. 4:10-14; 7:38).
The bronze snake (Num 21:4-9; Jn. 3:14-15)
Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him” (Jn. 3:13-14). He refers back to the exodus when the Israelites were bitten by venomous snakes because they complained against God and Moses. The bronze snake saved them from death. In the world, people are dying from the deadly poison of sin; however, when they put their faith in Christ who died on the cross for their sins, they will be saved from God’s judgment.
Objects related to the Tabernacle/temple
Temple (Ex. 29:43-46; Jn. 2:18-22)
Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” “They replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?’ But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After He was raised from the dead, His disciples recalled what He had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.” The tabernacle and temple were where God lived amongst the Israelites. Jesus used it as a metaphor for His body. He is “God with us”.
The sacrifices
The Old Testament sacrificial system involved the continual killing of animals as a means of atoning for sins. There were sin offerings, guilt offerings, grain offerings and fellowship offerings (Lev. 1:1 – 7:21). But Christ’s one sacrifice fulfilled all the Old Testament sacrifices (Heb. 10:1-18). Jesus was the perfect once and for all sacrifice (Heb 9; 1 Pt. 1:19). He was called the “Lamb of God” (Jn. 1:29). Only Christ, not any other sacrifice, could pay for sins (Ps 40:6-8; Heb. 10:5-10). The Old Testament sacrifices were never God’s ultimate plan to forgive sin. They were an illustration of Christ’s sacrificial death. Animal sacrifices could never do what Christ did on the cross. The sin offering on the day of atonement pictured Jesus. The sacrificial bodies were taken outside the camp like the cross was outside the wall of Jerusalem (Heb. 13:11-12). And Paul often used Old Testament sacrificial language to describe the death of Christ (Eph 5:2).
The inner curtain of the temple (Heb. 10:19-20).
Hebrews says that the inner curtain of the temple was like Christ’s body. The inner room of the temple is the place where God dwelt. So, Christ’s body (or death) is our doorway into the presence of God.
The cornerstone of the temple (Ps. 118:22; Isa. 8:14-15; Mt. 21:42; Acts 4:11; 1 Pt. 2:7-8)
Jesus quoted Psalm 118:22 to show that people would reject the Messiah when He came – “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone”. It probably relates to a story about the building of the temple – the builders didn’t recognise it. Likewise, Jesus was rejected by the religious leaders. And Paul says that Jesus is the “chief cornerstone” of the church (Eph. 2:19-20).
The cities of refuge (Num 35:6-34; Heb. 6:18)
Hebrews 6:18 describes believers as having “fled to Him [God] for refuge” (NLT). This may allude to the cities of refuge in the Old Testament which were places where the guilty could flee. A person who accidently killed someone could go there for refuge. If he made it to one of these cities, he would be saved from death by a pursuing relative of the dead person. Jesus saved us from eternal death. We can take refuge in Him by accepting His work on the cross to pay for our sins. He is our refuge. He took our death.
So, Jesus was foreshadowed by objects in the Old Testament like Noah’s ark, Jacob’s ladder, the Passover lamb, manna, the rock that provided water, the bronze snake, the temple, the sacrifices, the inner curtain of the temple, the cornerstone of the temple, and the cities of refuge. He fulfilled all these objects.
- Patterns of Christ: Events
The Sabbath Day (Col. 2:16-17)
Paul said that the Sabbath Day was “a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ”. The Sabbath rest in the Old Testament was an illustration or picture of the rest experienced by believers in Christ. In Christ, we find our spiritual rest (Mt. 11:28-30; Heb. 4:1-10). Now that Christ has come, believers no longer need to practice the Sabbath.
The Jewish festivals (Col. 2:16-17).
Paul said that the Jewish festivals were “a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ”. Israel had three special festivals a year: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. After Christ had come, they were obsolete.
Many events in the history of Israel were hidden parallel prophecies of Christ.
– Isa. 7:14; Mt 1:22-23 A child named Immanuel is born to a virgin (or young woman)
– Jer. 31:15; Mt. 2:17-18 Mourning for the death of children
– Mt. 2:14-15; Hos. 11:1 Just as God brought Israel out of Egypt, He also brought Jesus out of Egypt. Israel was tested for 40 years in the wilderness. And Jesus was tested for 40 days in the wilderness (Mt. 4:1-11). The three Old Testament passages that Jesus quoted in response to Satan came from the exodus from Egypt (Dt. 8:3; 6:16; 6:13).
– Isa. 40:3; Mt. 3:1-3 John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus
– Isa. 9:1-2; Mt. 4:13-16 Jesus spent most of His public ministry in the area north-west of the Sea of Galilee.
– Isa. 53:4; Mt. 8:17 Jesus healed diseases.
– Mic. 7:6; Mt. 10: 35-36 Jesus brought division.
– Isa. 35:5; 61:1; Mt. 11:2-6 Jesus performed miracles.
– Isa.6:9-10; Mt. 13:14-15 The parables concealed the truth from the hard-hearted.
– Isa. 29:13;Mt. 15:7-9 Jewish disobedience.
– Isa. 56:7; Jer. 7:11; Mt. 21:13 Buying and selling in the temple courts.
– Ps. 8:2; Mt. 21:16 Children praising.
– Jer. 12:7; 22:5; Mt. 23:38-39 Lamentation over Jerusalem.
– Ps. 110:1; Mt, 22:44 Jesus a Son and Lord of David.
– Dan. 7:13-14; Mt. 26:64 Jewish prophecy about the son of man.
Rejected by Jews and embraced by Gentiles (Lk. 4:24-30)
When Jesus was about to be rejected in His hometown, He said this also happened to the Old Testament prophets Elijah and Elisha. They were received by Gentiles instead – the widow of Zarephath near Sidon and Naaman the Syrian. This is a pattern. Joseph, Moses and David spent time with Gentiles when they were rejected by Israelites. When Simeon saw Jesus as a baby, he said that He would be “a light for the Gentiles” (Isa. 42:6; 49:6; 60:3; Lk. 2:32). The message about Jesus would extend to the Gentiles. And in the book of Acts, the gospel was largely rejected by the Jews and so went to the Gentiles.
Crucifixion – Jesus will be crucified
We have already said that Psalms 22 and 69 are applicable to the crucifixion of Christ. They mention the following.
– Ps. 22:16; Jn. 20:25 “They pierce my hands and feet”
– Ps. 22:18; Mt. 27:35 They cast lots for His clothing.
– Isa. 53:9; Mt. 27:57-60. He was with the wicked and the rich in His death.
Resurrection – Jesus will rise from the dead
Ps. 16:8-11; Acts 2:22-32 Peter preaching on the day of Pentecost claimed that Christ fulfilled this passage in Psalm 16 which says that His body didn’t decay.
Salvation of Israel – future
(Isa. 59:20-21; Rom. 11:25-27)
In Romans chapters 11-12, Paul says that When God has finished with the Gentiles, the nation of Israel’s hardness will cease. Many Jews will trust in their Messiah during the Great Tribulation and be ushered into the Millennial kingdom. At the second coming, Jesus will deliver faithful Jews from the wrath of the Tribulation. He quotes from Isaiah 59. So, Replacement theology is wrong. The church has not replaced Israel in God’s plans.
Jesus will come again in power and glory
Isa. 13:10; 34:4; Dan. 7:13-14; Mt. 24:29-31; Mk. 13:24-27
The description of the second coming of Christ in the gospels uses quotes from Isaiah and Daniel. So, it was foreshadowed in the Old Testament.
So, Jesus was foreshadowed by events in the Old Testament like the Sabbath Day, the Jewish festivals, many events in the history of Israel, being rejected by the Jews and embraced by the Gentiles, being crucified, being resurrected, the future salvation for Israel, and the second coming in power and glory. He fulfilled all these events.
The good news about Jesus
Paul summarised the good news about Jesus as, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures [Old Testament], that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures [Old Testament]” (1 Cor. 15: 3-4).
What’s the most important truth in the Bible? That Christ died for our sins and was buried and was raised back to life on the third day. That’s the gospel (good news) about Jesus. This is foreshadowed in the Old Testament and described historically in the New Testament.
The reason Jesus came to this earth in a physical body was to die for our sins with that body. His death for our sins is the only way to enter God’s presence.
Discussion
The Bible is full of patterns that repeat themselves throughout the course of history.
In these cases, history repeats itself.
The apostles observed in the Old Testament certain patterns that “predict” or prefigure or foreshadow how God will act in the future.
And Jesus brings about what was anticipated by the patterns in the Old Testament.
The purpose of the patterns is to lead people to Christ. They were hidden in the Old Testament but revealed in the New Testament.
These pattern prophecies of Jesus show that:
– Jesus and the Bible’s authors considered the patterns to be prophetic
– God rules history
– The unity of the Bible
– The complexity of the Bible
– The major theme of the Bible is the person and work of Christ
– Jesus fulfills (or completes) the patterns of many people and stories in the Bible.
– The fulfilment is greater than the shadow
– The patterns could have multiple fulfillments (in different time periods)
– God planned the coming of Christ many years beforehand
I have only mentioned examples of pattern prophecy that is confirmed in the New Testament. There could be others such as:
– Joseph who was hated, betrayed and exalted.
– Isaac who was willing to lay down his life on the same mountain where Jesus was crucified.
The Old Testament prophesies about Christ and pictures Him through shadows. The Gospels tell the story of His birth, life, death, and resurrection. The book of Acts shows the spread of Christ’s gospel through His apostles. The letters declare His teaching through the apostles, and finally, Revelation describes Christ’s wrath and coming to rule on the earth. Christ is the major theme of Scripture, and therefore, we must recognize Him throughout and allow the pictures and messages about Him to draw us to worship and obedience.
Note that the OT prophecies were addressed to the nation of Israel and didn’t specifically address the church age – from Pentecost to the resurrection of believers at the rapture. But of course, there are aspects of the Old Testament that are applicable to all eras.
By the way, the office of prophet does not continue today. In the New Testament God used apostles and prophets to establish the foundation of the church before the New Testament was written (Eph. 2:20). And a foundation is laid only once. However, God’s people are called to build on that foundation alone (Eph. 2:19–22). Today, preachers and teachers use the Bible to bring God’s word to us.
What interest do you have in prophecy? Does it match the desire and search undertaken by the Old Testament prophets?
Conclusion
We have seen that some parts of Israel’s history are repeated in the life of Jesus. What is concealed in the Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament.
The pattern prophecies show the unity of God’s plan of salvation and of the continuity from the Old Testament into the New Testament. The same God inspired both, and both proclaim the same message of salvation. This was foreshadowed in the Old Testament through the historical experiences of Israel and revealed in the incarnation of Christ in the New.
Seeing how Jesus fulfilled many pattern prophecies strengthens our faith in the Bible and in God the author of the Bible and the ruler of history.
Written, June 2023
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Prophecies about Jesus: His family line
When a job is advertised there is usually a job description and a list of essential requirements (like qualifications, skills, and experience). What were the essential requirements for the Jewish Messiah? One of them is one’s family tree.
Prophecies about the family line of the Jewish Messiah can be traced through the Old Testament and its listed in detail at the beginning of the New Testament (Mt. 1:1-16). (more…)
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The Creator who entered His creation
Our children and grandchildren spent many hours playing with Lego. They used their imagination and creativity to build many things. In Genesis we are told that in the beginning of time God created the universe and all that is in it. This was greater than creating with Lego – He didn’t just assemble ready-made components, He made the atoms and molecules of all the components. And He made living creatures, which do a lot more then Lego technic or Lego robots. Living creatures make their own decisions and don’t just follow a computer code. And they can communicate with each other. (more…)
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The command to keep the Lord’s Supper
The best explanation of the Lord’s Supper is given in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. It begins, “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me’. In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me’” (1 Cor. 11:23-25NIV). (more…)
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Biblical evidence of the Trinity
I have been asked, “How do you know that there is a Christian trinity ? Where is the proof in the Bible?”
This post comes from CrossExamined.org
The doctrine of the Trinity has come under increasing attack over recent years from a variety of groups. Some of these groups (such as Muslims and Jehovah’s witnesses) deny that this doctrine is even found in Scripture. They are often quick to point out that the word “trinity” is to be found nowhere in the Bible. This is correct. While the phraseology is not found in Scripture, however, the concept most certainly is. (more…)
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The Trinity is unique to Christianity
This post comes from Dr Tom Murphy who lives in Sydney, Australia.
What feature most differentiates Christianity from any other religion? What makes it special? Is it the crucifixion? The resurrection? The belief that Jesus was divine? Or something else?
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Crown of thorns
Who’s been watching the Olympic games in Tokyo where athletes are striving to win a gold medal? In the ancient games the winner received a laurel wreath to place on their head. The wreath was a symbol of victory. The Greek god Apollo wore such a wreath. And Julius Caesar wore a wreath to show his power. So, the laurel wreath was an ancient symbol of victory and success. (more…)
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More extra-biblical evidence of Jesus
Did you know that ancient history and archaeology has confirmed the existence of many people mentioned in the Bible? In an article in the Biblical Archaeology Review, Purdue University scholar Lawrence Mykytiuk examined Roman and Jewish historical documents to answer the question; Did Jesus of Nazareth, who was called Christ, exist as a real human being, “the man Christ Jesus” according to 1 Timothy 2:5NIV3?
This post has been sourced from the Biblical Archaeology Society. In 2017 I posted a summary of this article.
Tacitus, a Roman historian
Tacitus—or more formally, Caius/Gaius (or Publius) Cornelius Tacitus (55/56–c. 118 C.E.)—was a Roman senator, orator and ethnographer, and arguably the best of Roman historians. His name is based on the Latin word tacitus, “silent,” from which we get the English word tacit. Interestingly, his compact prose uses silence and implications in a masterful way. One argument for the authenticity of the quotation below is that it is written in true Tacitean Latin.4 But first a short introduction. (more…)
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Backyard camping
During the COVID-19 lockdown my grandchildren did some indoor camping. They’ve also tried backyard camping. Did you know that the Jews have a festival where they live outdoors as much as possible during a week?
Three times a year Israelite families travelled to the temple in Jerusalem for a religious festival (Ex. 23:14-17; 34:23-24; Dt. 16:16). The first of these was the Passover in spring, when they remembered how God delivered them from slavery in Egypt. The second was the Harvest Festival in summer (Ex. 23:16), when they thanked God for providing an abundant wheat harvest in Canaan. And the third was the Festival (or feast) of Shelters (or tabernacles) in autumn when they remembered God’s care and provision during the 40-year exodus journey. (more…)
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Record harvests
After a three-year drought, Australian farmers harvested a record amount of wheat (33.34 million tonnes) last year. The bumper crops came after a La Nina weather system brought heavy rains across the country. Last year China (142.81 million tonnes) and India (108.75 million tonnes) also had record wheat harvests. Did you know that Israel was promised record harvest in Canaan?
Three times a year Israelite families travelled to the temple in Jerusalem for a religious festival (Ex. 23:14-17; 34:23-24; Dt. 16:16). The first of these was the Passover, when they remembered how God delivered them from slavery in Egypt. The second was the Harvest Festival (Ex. 23:16), which was near the end of the wheat harvest in Canaan. It was also called the “Festival of weeks” (Ex. 34:22; Dt. 16:10), because it was seven weeks (or 50 days) after the Festival of Firstfruits (which was when they dedicated the barley harvest to the Lord on the Sunday after the Passover). Later it became known as Pentecost, which is the Greek word for 50th. It was also called “the day of firstfruits” (Num. 28:26) because farmers offered the firstfruits (the beginning) of their wheat harvest to God (Ex. 34:22). And they gave other offerings to God as well. At this festival they dedicated the wheat harvest to the Lord and gave back to God some of what He had provided for them. The offering of firstfruits was an acknowledgment that the harvest was from the Lord and belonged to Him. (more…)
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Dramatic rescues
In September 2010, 33 miners were rescued after being trapped in a copper mine in Copiapó, Chile for 68 days. In October 1987, an 18-month-old baby girl was rescued after being trapped at the bottom of a well for 58 hours. In 1956, 1,663 crew members and passengers were rescued from the Andrea Doria ocean liner when it capsized and sank after colliding with another ship. In January 1945, 510 prisoners of war were released in a daring raid on the Japanese Cabanatuan prison camp in the Philippines. And in November 1907, Jesús García drove a train away from Nacozari in Mexico because it had caught fire and contained dynamite. He died when the train exploded but he saved the Mexican village. But there are greater rescues than these.
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Why did Jesus call Himself the “Son of Man”?
Jesus often referred to Himself in the third person. And the title He used most often was the “Son of Man”. But what does this title mean and why did He use it?
Sometimes authors use pen names (or a pseudonym, or nom de plume) instead of their real name. For example, Samuel Clemens wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn under the name of Mark Twain. Eric Blair wrote Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four under the name George Orwell. Charles Dodgson wrote Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass under the name Lewis Carroll. And Agatha Christie wrote Murder on the Orient Express and Then There Were None under the name Mary Westmacott. Many women authors have used a nom de plume to get their work published due to bias against women writers. For example, Emily Brontë wrote Wuthering Heights under the name Ellis Bell. And Mary Evans wrote Middlemarch under the name George Eliot. Was the “Son of Man” Jesus’ pen name? (more…)
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Remembering Jesus
At our family Christmas party, my Christmas present was a book titled, “Remembering Bob” (Pieters-Hawke, 2019). It’s a collection of stories and memories about Bob Hawke, who was the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) President in 1969-1980 and the Australian Prime Minister in 1883-1991.
They say he was an outstanding leader and a great storyteller. His achievements included:
– preserving the Antarctic for peace and science
– contributing to the end of Apartheid in South Africa
– significantly raising the high school completion rate,
– strengthening healthcare, education, work life, and housing, and
– elevating environmental issues in political decision-making
But he regretted failing to deliver a treaty with Indigenous Australians. (more…)
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Conversation on God
Here is a conversation on God that is an extract from the comments after a blogpost. Check the post for the complete discussion that took place over a period of two months.
George 1 October
The new objection relates to the “proof of God” and the “divinity of Jesus”. These are big topics. I didn’t claim to prove the existence of God from the Bible. Instead, I would say that God is the most logical explanation of the existence and complex nature of the universe, the existence and complex nature of life, and the existence of the human conscience (innate sense of right and wrong). So, I agree that the Bible “is of itself not proof of God” – there’s lots of other evidence. However, the best evidence of the nature of Jesus is the historical record in the Bible. To investigate the “divinity of Jesus” one should study the most reliable ancient text about Him. Of course, one’s conclusion will depend on whether they have an open mind or not.
George 9 October
You say, “I would once again say that citing the Bible as proof of god amounts to nothing more than hearsay”. I didn’t claim to prove the existence of God from the Bible. Instead, I would say that the existence of God is the most logical explanation of the existence and complex nature of the universe, the existence and complex nature of life, and the existence of the human conscience (innate sense of right and wrong). So, there’s lots of other evidence available.
Commentator 9 October
Hi George I am curious if there is lots of other evidence that is not in the bible could you please point me in the right direction to find it?
George’s reply 19 October
You asked, “if there is lots of other evidence (of the existence of God) that is not in the bible could you please point me in the right direction to find it?”. The other evidence of the existence of God that I mentioned was: the existence and complex nature of the universe, the existence and complex nature of life, and the existence of the human conscience (innate sense of right and wrong). Look up any articles on the source or origin of these and see if they answer the question or not and see how many miracles they require. (more…)
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Search for the real Jesus
“Believers revere Him as the Son of God. Skeptics dismiss Him as a legend. Artists cast Him in images that reflect their own time and place. Today, archaeologists digging in the Holy Land are helping to sift fact from fiction”. That’s the introduction to an article in National Geographic magazine (December 2017) by Kristin Romey on what archaeology reveals about the life of Jesus. Romey hoped to discover how Christians texts and traditions compare to the discoveries of archaeologists.
Could Jesus have never existed?
Is it possible that the story of Jesus is pure invention and He never really existed? Although this is the view of some outspoken skeptics, it’s not that of scholars such as archaeologists. Professor Eric Meyers of Duke University says, “I don’t know any mainstream scholar who doubts the historicity of Jesus. The details have been debated for centuries, but no one who is serious doubts that he’s a historical figure”. And professor Bryon McCane of Atlantic University says, “I can think of no other example who fits into their time and place so well but people say doesn’t exist”. Even scholars who disbelieve Christ’s miraculous deeds believe that Jesus did certain things in Galilee and he did certain things in Jerusalem that resulted in his execution. (more…)
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Jesus is like royalty
When Megan Markle married Prince Harry, she was given the royal title (Her Royal Highness) the Duchess of Sussex. Did you know that Jesus Christ is given royal titles in the Bible like “Lord”, “King”, “Lord of lords” and “King of kings”?
In the New Testament, the Greek noun kurios (Strongs #2962) is translated “Lord” when it is used for deity. It is a title of God the Father (Mt. 1:20; 9:38; 11:25; Acts 17:24; Rev. 4:11) and of Jesus Christ (Lk. 2:11; Jn. 20:28; Acts 10:36; 1 Cor. 2:8; Phil. 2:11; Jas. 2:1; Rev. 19:16). And in some instances, it is uncertain as to whether God Father or God the Son is meant (Acts 9:31; 13:10-12; 20:19). Likewise, in the Bible, the title “Lord of lords” is given to God the Father (Dt. 10:17; Ps. 136:3; 1 Ti. 6:15) and to Jesus Christ (Rev. 17:14; 19:16). It refers to someone who has absolute dominion over all their realm. A supreme ruler.
A lord is a master, or ruler who has authority, control, or power over others. They are an important person like, a boss, a chief or an owner. After the resurrection, when the apostles said “Jesus is Lord”, they meant “Jesus is God”. Thomas said, “My Lord and my God!” (Jn. 20:28). Peter said Jesus was “both Lord and Messiah” and “Lord of all” (Acts 2:36; 10:36).
The Roman soldiers mocked Jesus as the “king of the Jews” (Mt. 27:27-31). They didn’t realize that as the Creator, Sustainer and Savior, He was the King of the earth and the King of the universe. But are we any better? What’s our opinion of Jesus?
Today believers have the privilege of voluntarily acknowledging that Jesus is Lord. They praise and worship God individually and corporately for what He has done for us through Jesus Christ. In particular, through Christ’s sacrificial death we can have our sins forgiven by God. There is no other way to heaven and peace with God.
But in the future, everyone else will be compelled to “acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Phil. 2:9-11NIV). It’s much better to avoid this by accepting the good news now and believing that Jesus died for your sins and recognizing Him as Lord of your life.
The statement “Jesus is Lord” means that Jesus is God. Like God the Father, He owns everything. If Jesus is Lord, then He owns us; and He has the right to tell us what to do. Are we obedient to the commands given in the Bible to His church?
Reference
Erickson M J (2013) “Christian Theology”, 3rd Ed. Baker Academic, p. 631
Written, July 2018
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As the Bible says
The World Cup is being played in Russia under the FIFA Regulations and the International Football Association’s laws of the game. Disobeying the laws can result in a yellow card or a red card. So far there have been three red cards in the 2018 World Cup. The Bible contains God’s laws for humanity. It tells us about our world and shows us the best way to live. And it tells us what God has done for us.
Paul summarized the good news in the Bible about Jesus as:
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for (because of) our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4NIV). He says that Christ’s death, burial and resurrection occurred in the way they were foretold in the Old Testament. Likewise, we will see that believers are to follow the New Testament.
Christ’s death
In Isaiah 52:12 – 53:12 the prophet Isaiah describes a righteous suffering servant who will bear people’s sins so they can be spiritually healed. It’s clear that the servant will die:
“By oppression and judgment he was taken away (an unjust death).
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living (a death before reaching old age);
for the transgression of my people he was punished …
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth” (Isa. 53:8, 9b).
It will be an unjust death administered as punishment for an alleged crime.
The reason for his death is given as:
“But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed (spiritually).
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:5-6).
The servant dies so that people can receive spiritual healing and peace because he takes the punishment for their sins, iniquities and transgressions.
These predictions were fulfilled when Jesus was crucified. His alleged crimes were blaspheme (Mt. 26:65), subversion and opposing Caesar (Lk. 23:2). Clearly, Jesus died for (because of) our sins. And His death was confirmed by His burial.
Christ’s burial
The servant’s burial is described as:
“He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death” (Isa. 53:9a).
These predictions were fulfilled when Jesus was crucified together with two criminals. And He was buried in a new tomb by Joseph, “a rich man from Arimathea” (Mt. 27:57). The Jewish religious leaders planned to have Him buried as a criminal, but God over-ruled and He was buried in a tomb prepared by “a prominent member of the Council (the Jewish Sanhedrin)” (Mk. 15:43).
In our experience death is terminal and permanent. But the Bible says that Christ’s death was temporary. It was interrupted by His resurrection, which is the reversal of death.
Christ’s resurrection
In a song expressing his trust in God for safety when he faced death, David said:
“Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay” (Ps. 16:9-10).
Peter explained that David was referring to the resurrection of Jesus:
“Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven …” (Acts 2:29-34).
Jesus also said that Jonah’s three days in the belly of a huge fish was sign that He would be in the grave for three days (Mt. 12:40). So Jonah’s near-death experience symbolized Christ’s death and resurrection, including the time frame involved.
These predictions were fulfilled when Jesus was raised back to life. Paul says that people could verify this with eyewitnesses because Jesus appeared to the apostles and to more than 500 people at the same time (1 Cor. 15:5-6).
According to Jesus
Jesus also said that His life was a fulfilment of the Old Testament. He told the Jewish leaders, “These are the very Scriptures (the Old Testament) that testify about me” (Jn. 5:39). Before His death He told the disciples, “It is written (in the Old Testament): ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me (in the Old Testament) is reaching its fulfillment” (Lk. 22:37). This is a quotation from Isaiah 53:12.
And after His resurrection He told the two on the way to Emmaus, ‘”How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures (the Old Testament) concerning Himself’ (Lk. 24:25-27).
And He told the disciples, ‘”This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written (in the Old Testament): The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things” (Lk. 24:44-48). In this passage, “the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” means all the old Testament as Psalms was the first book in the writings category of the Jewish Scriptures.
Discussion
There are three aspects to the good news about Jesus: the death of Christ for our sins, His burial that confirms His death, and His resurrection that shows His victory over death and that God accepted Christ’s sacrifice for sin. We have seen that each of these happened as the Old Testament predicted. The phrase “according to the Scriptures” occurs twice in this short passage, indicating the importance of these Old Testament prophecies (1 Cor. 15:3-4). They are mentioned before the eyewitnesses (v.5-7). So what the Bible says is more important than what someone else says.
The Old Testament prophecies are also important because they show that Christ’s work for us was planned long ago. Likewise, God’s plan for us was recorded in the New Testament many years ago. Because we are under the new covenant instead of the law of Moses, the Scriptures that we are to follow are those written to the church (Acts to Revelation).
The other instance of “according to the Scriptures” in the Bible is, ‘If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well’ (Jas. 2:8ESV). This is the fourth reason that James gives for condemning favoritism. If we really loved our neighbors as ourselves, we would treat them as we want to be treated. We learn from the parable of the Good Samaritan that our neighbor is anyone who has a need which we can help to meet (Lk. 10:29-37). And this is “according to the Scripture” because it’s a quotation from Leviticus 19:18.
Lessons for us
What the Bible says is more important than the laws of football. Jesus lived, died, was buried and rose again “according to the Scriptures” or as the Bible predicted. What about us? Do we live as the Bible (God) says we should? Do we believe Jesus Christ is who the Bible says He is? Do we trust and rely on Him for our salvation? Do we recognize our sinfulness and separation from God? Have we confessed our sinfulness to God? Are we living for God or just for ourselves?
Written, June 2018
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Who and how to worship
The book of Revelation was written during a time when emperor-worship unified the Roman Empire. The emperor was viewed as a divine figure, to whom temples, altars and priesthoods were dedicated. Emperors were worshipped, honored, respected and served at any cost. Because he rejected emperor worship, John was banished to the island of Patmos (Rev. 1:9-11). From Patmos John urged first century Christians to worship the true God and not the emperor, and he recorded this message in the book of Revelation.
The Greek verb to worship, proskuneo (Strongs #4352), occurs 60 times in the New Testament and 24 (40%) of these are in the book of Revelation. It’s the main book about worship in the New Testament. In this way, the book of Revelation is like the book of Psalms, which is the main book about worship in the Old Testament. In Revelation, worship describes homage or reverence towards God, or a person or an idol or an angel. This shows that if we don’t worship God, then we will worship someone else or something else. Who will we worship? The true God or Satan who is the power behind all false gods? This is important because it determines our eternal destiny.
The book of Revelation is framed with worship – it’s in the first and last chapters. After John sees a vision of the glorified Christ, he “fell at His feet as though dead” (Rev. 1:17NIV). This was an act of worship. After the final vison, John “fell down at the feet of the angel who had been showing” the visions to him (22:8). But the angel tells him to “Worship God” instead (22:9).
In Revelation, worshippers serve (7:15; 22:3), praise (19:5), and offer thanks (4:9; 7:12; 11:17). And they fall down (in worship) before God (4:10; 5:14; 7:11; 11:16; 19:4) and Christ (1:17; 5:8, 14).
The book of Revelation shows us who to worship and who not to worship.
Don’t worship angels
Angels are messengers from God. On two occasions when John received visions, he bowed down to the angel associated with them (19:10; 22:8). But he was told not to worship the angel. Jesus is superior to angels (Heb. 1-14). And Christians at Colossae were warned not to worship angels (Col. 2:18). So, don’t worship angels.
It is evident in the book of Revelation that there is a cosmic battle for our allegiance and worship. The true God and the victorious Lamb of God (Jesus Christ) continually reign and are being worshipped behind the scenes by angels and the redeemed in heaven, even during times when Satan seems to have his greatest impact. But Satan deceives the world into worshipping false gods and idols (12;9; 13:2-4; 20:2-3). 46% of the instances of The Greek verb to worship proskuneo in the book of Revelation refer to false forms of worship. In the end, Satan and his followers will be judged and cast into eternal punishment (20:1-4, 15). So, don’t worship Satan, who is an angel who rebelled against God.
Don’t worship heroes
Revelation describes political and religious leaders that oppose God’s people and God’s purposes (13:1-18). They are called beasts. And they deceive many people into worshipping them (13:4, 8, 12, 15; 14:9, 11; 19:20; 20:4). Paul also warned about worshipping and serving created things rather than the Creator (Rom. 1:25). We are not to worship saints, prophets, political leaders, religious leaders, or Mary, the mother of Jesus. So, don’t worship human heroes, no matter how great they are.
Don’t worship idols
An idol is anything we worship instead of the true God. Anything we want more than God. Anything we rely on more than God. Anything we give a higher priority than God. And anything we look to for greater fulfillment than God. In Revelation idols are described as “the work of their hands” and “idols that cannot see or hear or walk” (9:20). In those days it referred to images and statues, which people were urged to worship. It was like when some of the Jews (Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) told the king of Babylonia, “we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up“ (Dan. 3:18).
Idolatry also refers to false gods such as materialism, naturalism, wealth, power, selfish ambition, self-indulgence, self-esteem (pride), recreation, and pleasure. And Paul said that it includes, “sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed” (Col. 3:5). Idols can also be “good” things that we’ve elevated in importance. For example, our children, spouse, physical attractiveness, money, job, or friendships. And technology.
Revelation also says that worshipping idols is equivalent to worshipping demons (9:20). This means that Satan is the influence behind idolatry. So, don’t worship idols. Instead let’s turn away from idols “to serve the living and true God” (1 Th. 1:9).
So the book of Revelation says not to worship angels, Satan, heroes or idols. These are false (counterfeit) gods. But what does it say about worshipping the true God?
Worship the true God
In Revelation we learn about what worship is like in heaven. It’s mostly corporate (the redeemed and angels), not individual. Vast numbers of people and angels worship God together (5:11-12; 19:1, 6). And it’s God-centered – directed to God and Jesus Christ. Here’s three examples of this worship.
First, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being” (4:11). So, let’s praise and worship our God as the great Creator.
Second, “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth” (5:9-10).
And at this time the angels said, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise” (5:12)!
So, let’s praise and worship Jesus as the great Redeemer/Saviour/Rescuer. His death and resurrection enabled people from around the world to have their sins forgiven so they could be reconciled with God. This is the greatest example of unconditional love.
Third, “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations. Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” (15:3-4).
The context of this passage is God’s judgement of the ungodly. So, let’s praise and worship God as Judge of all. He is pure, holy and just. He’s the one who will right all the wrongs. He judges rebels and rewards His servants. And He is to be praised for His righteous judgements.
The book of Revelation is full of corporate praise and worship like, “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory” (19:6-7)! And, “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever” (5:13)!
The redeemed will worship God throughout eternity. They “are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple” (7:14). And they will worship and serve God forever (22:1-5).
Summary
People were made to worship. Bob Dylan sang, “you’re gonna have to serve somebody”. We worship either the true God or we worship a counterfeit. So, let’s worship the true God and not false gods. Let’s worship Him based on the patterns of heavenly worship depicted in Revelation. He’s the great creator, the great redeemer and the great judge.
Written, December 2017
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Evidence for God’s Existence
I have been asked to provide evidence of the existence of God. While researching this topic, I discovered the following article by Dr Gregory E. Ganssle of the Department of Philosophy at Yale University.
You Cannot Prove God’s Existence
Ever since Immanuel Kant wrote his Critique of Pure Reason, it has been common for thinking people to insist that it is impossible to prove the existence of God. In fact this claim has been elevated to the level of dogma in American intellectual culture. The reason I know this is considered unquestionable dogma is the reaction I get when I call it into question. When someone says “You cannot prove the existence of God”. I want to ask “How do you know? You just met me! How do you know what I can do?”
What do most people mean when they recite this claim? Most people mean that I cannot provide a philosophical argument for the existence of God which will convince all thinking people. It is impossible, so the story goes, to provide an argument which will compel assent. If my argument will not convince the most ardent atheist, I have not proven God’s existence. Since I cannot convince such an atheist to believe, my arguments do not count as proof. If they do not count as proof, what good are they?
I agree that I cannot provide an argument that will convince all thinking people. But what does this tell me? Does this tell me anything about God? No. This tells me more about the nature of proof than it does about whether God exists. I cannot provide an argument which will convince everyone, without a possibility of doubt, that God exists. That is no problem. You see, I cannot provide an argument for any interesting philosophical conclusion which will be accepted by everyone without possibility of doubt.
I cannot prove beyond the possibility of doubt — in a way that will convince all philosophers that the Rocky Mountains are really here as a mind-independent object. I cannot prove that the entire universe did not pop into existence five minutes ago and that all of our apparent memories are not illusions. I cannot prove that the other people you see on campus have minds. Perhaps they are very clever robots.
There is no interesting philosophical conclusion that can be proven beyond the possibility of doubt. So the fact that arguments for the existence of God do not produce mathematical certainty does not by itself weaken the case for God’s existence. It simply places the question of God’s existence in the same category as other questions such as that of the existence of the external, mind-independent world and the question of how we know other people have minds.
Does this mean that arguments for the existence of God are useless? Not at all. Sure, I cannot provide an argument which will convince all thinking people but this does not mean I don’t have good reason to believe in God. In fact some of my reasons for believing in God may be persuasive to you. Even if you aren’t persuaded to believe that God exists, my arguments may not be useless. It is reasonable to believe that the mountains are real and our memories are generally reliable and that other minds exist. It is reasonable to believe these things even though they cannot be proven. Maybe some argument for God’s existence will persuade you that belief in God is reasonable.
So how can we know that God exists? Instead of looking for undoubtable conclusions, we weigh evidence and consider alternatives. Which alternative best fits the evidence? We will choose one alternative or another. There is no neutral ground.
Where Can we Find Information about God?
When you get to thinking about it, it seems that there are only two basic sources of information about God, if such a being exists. They are the following:
We can infer what might be true about God from what we observe in the universe. We look at the physical universe, human nature and culture and we observe things which may be clues to the existence or nature of the supernatural. God may have entered the Universe and told us true things about himself, morality, meaning and how to have a relationship with him. This is called Revelation.
Let me explain each of these. One year my wife and I drove from Los Angeles to Rhode Island. It took a long time. The country is pretty big. From this observation it makes sense to think that if there is some person or being who is responsible for making the physical universe, this being has a lot more power than we do. Now this is a rather simplistic example. Another observation we can make is that every culture we know anything about has a deep sense that certain things are morally permissible and certain things are morally prohibited. This leads us to infer that if there is some supernatural being responsible for human nature, that being is personal. He has a moral aspect to his nature.
The second source of information is that God may have taken the initiative and stepped into the universe to reveal himself. He may tell us true things about his nature and purposes and about human meaning and morality.
Christianity holds that both of these are good sources of information. We have clues to God’s existence which can be observed and God has entered the physical universe through the life and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth in History and told us about himself.
Now in this article I am concentrating on the first source. Can we know anything about God from what we observe? Are there good reasons to believe in God based on these observations? I think there are.
Reasons to Believe in God
I want to pick up two observations which I think give us good reason to think there is a God. First, the existence of the universe is better explained by the existence of God. Second, the existence of objective moral values is better explained by the existence of God.
The Existence of the Universe is Better Explained by The Existence of God.
I will begin by laying out the argument:
1. There are things which come into existence.
Everything which comes into existence is caused to exist by something else. There cannot be an infinite series of past causes. Therefore, there exists a first cause which did not come into existence. In other words, the first cause always existed. Let us look at each of the steps in the argument:
Premise 1. “There are things which come into existence.”
Many things have come into existence. This article is coming into existence as I write it. You came into existence and so did I. This premise is not uncontroversial.
Premise 2. “Everything which comes into existence is caused to exist by something else.”
It is obvious that Nothing can cause itself to come into existence. Anything that causes itself to come into existence has to exist before it exists. This is impossible. Perhaps something can come into existence from Nothing without any cause whatsoever. Can a thing just pop into existence with absolutely no cause? This also does not seem reasonable.
I have three children. If I walk into the dining room and see a picture of Pinky and the Brain which is drawn on the wall in Permanent Magic Marker I will ask “Where did this picture come from?” My daughter Elizabeth (who is almost five) might say “It came from nothing, Dad. Nothing caused it. It just popped there. I think it is quite strange — don’t you?” Will I accept this? No! Things do not come into existence from Nothing without cause. So, we have good reason to think that premise two is true. Everything which comes into existence is caused to exist by something else.
Premise 3. “There cannot be an infinite series of past causes.”
Is the series of past causes infinite? Can the universe have an infinite past? The answer is that it cannot. First, there are philosophical reasons to think the past cannot be infinite. Second, there are scientific reasons which support this view.
Philosophical Reasons
Why can’t the past be infinite? The answer is that it is impossible to complete an infinite series by addition. The series of past events is complete. Think of this mathematical fact. Why is it impossible to count to infinity? It is impossible because, no matter how long you count, you will always be at a finite number. It is impossible to complete an actual infinite by successive addition.
The past is complete. This claim means that the entire series of past events ends now. It ends today. Tomorrow is not part of the series of past events. The series of past events does not extend into the future. It is complete at the present. If it is impossible to complete an infinite series by successive addition (as it is impossible to count to infinity) the past cannot be infinite. If the past is finite, that is, if it had a beginning, then the universe had a beginning. We have strong philosophical reason to reject the claim that the universe has always existed.
Scientific Reasons
I will not develop these. Rather, I will simply point them out.
Big Bang theory does not prove that the universe had a beginning, but it supports this claim.
The second law of thermodynamics does not prove that the universe had a beginning but it also supports this claim.
We can see that we have good philosophical and Scientific reasons to reject the idea that the Universe has always existed.
About the Universe, there are only three alternatives:
1. The universe has always existed. It has an infinite past.
2. The universe was popped into existence from nothing with absolutely no cause.
3. The universe was caused to exist by something outside it.
We have strong reason to reject the first two alternatives.
Alternative Three is the most reasonable. There was a first cause. This cause existed eternally. It initiated the big bang and created the universe. Now what can we know about this cause? Why think the cause is God? I will briefly sketch a few implications.
First, the first cause is not a part of the space-time physical universe because it caused the space time universe to begin. Therefore it is outside of space and time. It is not physical. Second, it has a great deal of power. Third, it is a personal agent. This means it is not an inert force but it must have aspects of person hood; namely, that it wills. How do we know this? This is because it is the best answer to the question of why the Big Bang happened when it did. Why not sooner? Why not later? All of the conditions for producing the Big Bang existed from eternity. The only kind of cause we know of that can initiate an effect when all of the conditions are already present is the will of a personal agent.
I have not argued that it is logically impossible that the universe popped into existence from nothing without cause. I have argued that it is more reasonable to hold that it has a cause and that this cause is a non-physical personal agent — God.
So it seems that the first argument is fairly strong. The existence of the universe is better explained by the existence of God.
The Existence of Objective Moral Values is Better Explained by the Existence of God.
People experience a sense of morality that leads them to hold strongly that certain things are right or wrong for all people in all cultures. For example, it is wrong to torture another person just for fun. It is wrong for me today. It is wrong for a citizen of the Philippines and it was wrong for someone living in 500 BC. Our moral sense provides strong reason to believe in a personal God.
It will help clarify what I am saying if we put it into the form of an argument.
If there is no God, there are no objective moral values.
There are moral values which are objective.
Therefore, God exists.
Before I discuss this argument, I must make it clear that I am not claiming that one must believe in God in order to be moral. I am not claiming that statistically those who believe in God are more moral than those who do not. I am also not claiming that our knowledge of morality depends upon God. This argument is to the effect that objective moral values themselves are foreign to a universe without God. They do not fit.
Defending Premise 1. “If there is no God, there are no objective moral values.”
I have to admit that this claim is quite controversial and many philosophers disagree with me. I think, however, that objective moral values are not sufficiently explained in a universe without God. Many have agreed with this claim. For example, Dostoevski had Ivan Karamazov claim, “If there is no God, everything is permitted.” Sartre wrote of Dostoevski’s statement, “That is the very starting point of existentialism. Indeed, everything is permissible if God does not exist, and as a result man is forlorn, because neither within him nor without does he find anything to cling to” [see his essay Existentialism]. John Mackie — probably the best philosophical atheist of the twentieth century recognizes this: “[Objective moral values] constitute so odd a cluster of qualities and relations that they are most unlikely to have arisen in the ordinary course of events, without an all-powerful god to create them. If, then, there are such intrinsically prescriptive objective values, they make the existence of a god more probable than it would have been without them [The Miracle of Theism, pp 115-116].
Mackie recognizes that these objective values do not fit in the universe if there is no God. His answer, since he rejects God, is to claim that there are no objective moral values. His book on ethics is appropriately titled Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong. I agree with Dostoevski, Sartre and Mackie. If there is no God, there are no objective moral values.
Defending Premise 2. “There are objective moral values.”
We know there are objective moral values. By this I mean that the content of morality is not determined by the individual, or by culture. Rather some things are objectively wrong. Other things are objectively obligatory. Actions such as rape, racist discrimination and torturing an innocent baby to death for no reason are really wrong. Furthermore, It is wrong for me to do these no matter when I live and no matter from what culture I come.
Now many people believe that morality is not objective. This view comes in three basic varieties.
1. The individual determines morality.
If the individual determines morality, then if I believe it is morally permissible to steal your stereo and beat up your girlfriend, it is permissible for me to do it. But it is not permissible for me to beat up your girlfriend. Therefore, the individual does not determine morality.
2. Society determines morality.
If I lived in a completely racist society, would racism be right for me? Not at all. When an American university student protests against South Africa’s policy of apartheid, he is assuming that morality is not determined by society. It is transcendent of cultures. All of our greatest heroes have been men and women who have stood up to society’s wrongs and appealed to a morality that is transcendent to society in order to demand change. If society determines morality, it is always morally wrong to criticize society. There is no morality outside of society which can form the basis of a moral critique.
3. Morality has survival value.
Some people claim that the reason we have this moral sense is that it helped the human race survive. Those individuals with moral sense grouped together for mutual protection and these did better than those without the moral sense. This is a kind of prehistoric social contract theory of morality. The problem with this is that we do not need morality to survive today. In fact, if you and I know that morality has no objective validity and the rest of our culture still thinks it is valid, we can take advantage of this to get the most we can. There is no moral reason to refrain from rape, robbery and murder.
These inadequate objections show that our sense is that there is a morality that is trans-personal, trans-cultural and trans-temporal The existence of a personal God is the best explanation for this. It is not up to the individual or the culture whether it is permissible to rape simply for fun. Any individual who believes it is morally permissible to rape for fun has a false belief. Any culture whose moral guidelines include the claim that it is permissible to rape for fun has simply got it wrong.
If it is true that Hitler was morally wrong, it is true that there are objective moral truths which are trans-cultural. If it is true that it was wrong for Romans to leave baby girls to die on the trash heaps — simply because they were girls, then morality is not determined by culture. If it is true that Martin Luther King was a moral hero because he criticized his own culture by appealing to objective morality, then it is true that morality is not determined by culture.
Now, It is true that Hitler was wrong. It is true that the Romans were wrong. It is true that Martin Luther King was right — heroically right. So, we know there are objective moral truths. But objective morality makes no sense in the Universe if there is no God. Objective moral values point to the existence of a moral being who created the universe. His moral character is the standard for objective right and wrong.
Summary
I have briefly presented two arguments for the existence of God. These show that it is more reasonable to believe that God exists than that He does not exist.
A. The Existence of the Universe is Better Explained by The Existence of God.
B. The Existence of Objective Moral Values is Better Explained by the Existence of God.
So we see that some of the things we observe about the natural world ground a strong inference to the claim that God does exist. This gives us reason to consider with renewed openness the possibility that God has entered the space-time universe and revealed Himself through the person and life and death of Jesus of Nazareth.
I have not claimed to prove with mathematical certainty that God exists. I have, however, provided good reasons to think that He does. If someone wishes to argue successfully that God does not exist, they must first, provide an answer for each of these arguments and second, they must offer arguments that God does not exist. Until they do this, we can conclude that we have good reason to claim that God does exist.
This article was written by Dr Gregory E. Ganssle of the Department of Philosophy at Yale University.
Posted, November 2017
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Does God have a sense of humor?
According to the Macquarie dictionary a sense of humor is appreciating what’s amusing, funny or comical. A joke is an amusing or ridiculous circumstance. Laughter is usually normal and healthy, but there are times when it is not. For example, it can mask and trivialize sin (Jas. 4:9).
Of all God’s creatures, human beings alone possess a sense of humor. As they are also made in the image and likeness of God, I suggest that God is capable of humor as well (Gen. 1:26). But of course God doesn’t share all our attributes (such as sinfulness).
Solomon said that there is “a time to weep and a time to laugh” (Eccl. 3:4NIV). For example, we laugh at the things that children do. I wonder whether God (as our Father) laughs at some of the things that we do?
Creation
God created some funny creatures. For example, the distinctive call of the laughing kookaburra. And it looks like God was having fun when he designed the Australian platypus and bilby. The first English scientists to see a specimen of a duck-billed platypus thought it was a hoax because it had a bill and webbed feet like a duck, which is a bird. They thought the bill of a duck had been attached to the body of an otter, beaver or mole! The bilby is called a “rabbit-eared bandicoot” because it has ears like a rabbit. And its back legs look like those of a kangaroo, but it gallops like a horse!
Recently I went to the zoo with a grandson. We saw lots of God’s creatures. I’m sure God had fun designing all the animals in the web of life. From bacteria to whales. Will they walk, fly or swim? Adding a long neck or stripes. Which would be companions, predators and prey? They are so diverse, but integrated.
Funny incidents in the Bible
There are some funny incidents in the Bible. As “all-Scripture is God-breathed”, it means that God has caused these to be recorded (2 Tim. 3:16). At Babel the builders constructed a tower “that reaches to the heavens”. Ironically God had to “come down” to see the tower they were building (Gen. 11:4-5)! So it wasn’t very high according to God! Such delusions of grandeur would have made God laugh.
Laban tricked Jacob into marrying Leah instead of Rachael. She was veiled during the wedding and unrecognized in the darkness of the wedding night and the Bible says, “When morning came, there was Leah!” (Gen. 29:25). What a surprise! Did Jacob drink too much wine at the wedding?
God used a talking donkey to warn and rebuke Balaam for planning to curse Israel (Num. 22:21-35)! And he used a fish to get Jonah to Nineveh!
When the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant they added it to their gods by placing it in the temple beside the god Dagon. But next day Dagon was flat on the ground before the ark. So they put Dagon upright once again. But the following day the idol was flat on the ground once again with his head and hands broken off (1 Sam. 5:1-5)! It was obvious who was the stronger God.
When Saul was pursuing David, he went into a cave to relieve himself. It happened that David and his followers were also in the cave and David crept up and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe (1 Sam. 24:1-4). Saul looked ridiculously vulnerable!
After being told that Jesus was from Nazareth, Nathaniel says “Can anything good come from there?”. Then Jesus says that Nathaniel was without deceit! And accepts him as a disciple!
The disciples took a metaphor literally. When Jesus said to them, “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees”, they said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread” (Mt. 16:5-12)! They were dumb!
Funny sayings in the Old Testament
When describing a stork, the book of Job says “God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense” (Job 39:17). That’s not very flattering!
God used irony and sarcasm when He answered Job. Where were you when I created the earth? Surely you’re old enough to answer my questions about the creation (Job 38:4, 21)? Of course the answer is no! Job wasn’t there in the beginning, but God was.
Jehoram, was an evil king of Judah who lead the nation into idolatry. The Bible says that “He passed away, to no one’s regret”, didn’t have a funeral fire and wasn’t buried in the tombs of the kings (1 Chr. 21:19-20). That’s a colorful way of saying what people thought about Jehoram.
Some of Solomon’s proverbs are funny:
– “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion” (11:22)
– “Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife” (21:9). And “A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping of a leaky roof in a rainstorm” (27:15).
– “The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside!”” (22:13). That sounds like a good excuse to stay home!
God mocks idols. They had mouths, but can’t speak. Eyes, but can’t see. Ears but can’t hear. And mouths, but can’t breathe. They seem to be useless and dead! And then He adds the punch line: “Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them” (Ps. 135:15-18)! Idols are a fraud and worthless (Jer. 10:14-15). They were just a dead stone or block of wood (Isa. 44:9-20; Hab. 2:18-10).
God can use wordplay in serious situations. For example, the Lord showed Jeremiah the branch of an almond tree and said “I am watching” (Jer. 1:11). The Hebrew word for almond (saqed) sounds like the word for watching (soqed).
Funny sayings in the New Testament
Jesus used some funny illustrations:
– He said to the hypocrites, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Mt. 7:3). This hyperbole is hilarious!
– After He spoke with a rich man, Jesus said, “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God” (Mt. 19:24). This is another exaggeration.
– He said the hypocritical Jewish religious leaders were “like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean” (Mt.23:27).
– He said to the hypocritical Jewish religious leaders, “You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel” (Mt. 23:24). They were leading people into danger like blind guides (Lk. 6:39). And by concentrating on minor matters (like gnats), they missed dealing with major matters (like camels). Jesus also used a pun here as the Aramaic word for gnat is galma and for camel is gamla.
– He also mentions lighting a lamp and putting it under a basket, building a house on sand, and a father giving their child stones instead of bread. All of which are ridiculous.
– And He makes a Samaritan behave better than a priest and Levite (Lk. 10:30-35).
The common people would have laughed at these comical images.
Jesus also used puns like saying “on this rock I will build my church” when he was speaking to Peter (whose Greek name meant detached stone) (Mt. 16:18).
When describing Abraham, the writer of Hebrews says, “from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky” (Heb. 11:12). That’s a colourful way of saying that he was very old when Isaac was conceived.
There are probably lots of other incidents and sayings in the Bible that would have been shocking or amusing in the culture of the time, but are lost on us today. For example, there is wordplay in the names of people and places in the Old Testament.
God laughs
The Bible says that God laughs when nations rebel against Him (Ps. 2:4; 59:8). He scoffs at them. God also laughs when the wicked plot against the righteous (Ps. 37:12-13). They don’t realize it’s impossible to defeat the omnipotent God. It’s ludicrous because of the great difference in power.
We may say that God has the last laugh. It may be delayed; and evil may appear to have prevailed. But in the end, God will be victorious.
God is happy and joyful
When the Jews are delivered from their enemies in the future, the Bible says that God “will take great delight in you … will rejoice over you with singing” (Zeph. 3:17). This is similar to Paul saying that God is happy (“makariou” is translated as “blessed”) (1 Tim. 1:11; 6:15). This is lasting joy and not just a transient emotion.
Jesus used wordplay
Large crowds of people followed Jesus to hear Him speak and see Him do miracles. Obviously He was a skilled orator. And He would have seen the humor in life – that which is ludicrous or incongruous. He used exaggeration, irony, sarcasm, and satire to help communicate His message. It may have been like street theater with subtle wit and wordplay, but with a serious message.
Jesus also welcomed children and children usually see the funny side of life (Mt. 19:13-14; Mk. 10:13-16; Lk. 18:15-17).
Lessons for us
Humor is cultural and situational and doesn’t always translate into other languages. For this reason, much of the humor in the Bible is probably lost to us today. But we have seen that there is evidence that God has a sense of humor. This is consistent with a God who is personal and who sustains the world.
Coarse jokes are ungodly (Eph. 5:4). And some comedy relates to sinful behavior. This is not part of God’s character. It has been said that:
God is serious because sin is serious. God finds nothing funny about the state of the world. How could a God so holy and righteous be funny in a world where sin is still present? Jesus was a serious person because He was on a serious mission. Our eternal life was a serious issue to Him. Leaving His glory in heaven to come into the world was no fun. The death on the cross was no fun at all. He didn’t come to put people down, but to lift them up.
This is true, but it is clear that God is joyful and Jesus used wordplay. God is serious and He has a sense of humor. He has both attributes, not just one or the other. So, let’s have a balanced view of God.
The joy of the Christian life can be expressed in humor. While worldly humor glorifies sin, puts down others, ridicules righteousness, and hurts the soul – Godly humor encourages others, honors the Lord, and restores the soul. And humor helps us get through life by providing relief from the seriousness of life. So, let’s balance the seriousness and humor of life. And, like Jesus, let’s use appropriate humor to promote our communication with other people.
Summary
Although we are usually unaware of it, God is capable of good humor and there is evidence of this in the Bible and in creation. And the carrying out His plan of salvation and His coming exaltation bring Him much joy. Do we share in this joy?
Written, June 2017
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What God does
There’s a country music song by Brooks and Dunn titled, “God must be busy”. It mentions fighting in the Middle East, a single mum who lost her job, people dying and missing in a tornado, the abduction of a young girl, a drought, elderly people who can’t afford their medication, and violent street gangs. The writer feels as small as a speck of sand and that God’s got better things to do than to help them. They think that God hasn’t answered their prayer because “God must too be busy to help me”. This is an example of those who say they don’t want to bother God about their problems because He’s too busy running the universe.
In a class I’ve been attending at Bible College we’ve been looking at what the Bible says about God. This includes God’s attributes (His character) and God’s actions. His attributes can be summarized as: God is great and God is good. An example of His greatness is His power and an example of His goodness is His love. Of course God is much greater than we can imagine and more virtuous than we can imagine.
But what does God do? In this blogpost we are looking at what God does. His actions. And we will see that in the past God has planned and created, but now He sustains and governs His creation.
God plans
Like an architect designs a building, and an engineer designs a car, and a graphic artist designs an animated movie and a sculptor designs a pot, God has planned everything that will happen (Rom. 9:20-23). Like the plan begins in the mind of the architect, the engineer, the graphic designer, and the sculptor; the plan also begins in the “mind” of God. He decides. It’s His will. When we say “God’s will”, we mean “God’s plan”.
We don’t know much about God’s plan. Only what’s revealed in the Bible. We see what happens, not why it happens.
First, God’s plan included creation. It was God’s idea. God didn’t have to create, but He did.
Second, God’s plan includes the history of nations and individuals. For example:
– God used Assyria to punish ungodly nations, “Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it. In days of old I planned it; now I have brought it to pass, that you have turned fortified cities into piles of stone” (Isa. 37:26NIV). It says that God planned it long ago. God also determined the beginning, the end and the area occupied by nations (Acts 17:26).
– David says that our life span and its events have been already determined by God, “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Ps. 139:16).
Third, God’s plan included salvation (Eph. 1:11). God gave a promise to Abraham, and through him to humanity. This promise-plan is fulfilled in the history of Israel, in Jesus Christ as the source of salvation, in the church, and in the age to come (Kaiser, 2008). God wanted to have people become like Himself, so He could enjoy their fellowship (Rom. 8:29; 1 Jn. 3:2). Jesus was sent on a mission at a time that was determined beforehand (Gal .4:5-5). The death of Jesus was part of “God’s deliberate plan” (Acts 2:23). God decided beforehand what happened (Acts 4:28).
God’s plan is good; it has good consequences. And the ultimate purpose of God’s plan is His glory (Eph. 1:12, 14; Rev. 4:11; 5:13).
When did God do this planning? The Bible says that it was “before the beginning of time” and “before the creation of the world” (Eph. 1:12; 2 Tim. 1:9; 1 Pt. 1:20). So it was made before anything was created. When the triune God was all that existed. In eternity past.
But God’s work is more than planning; He also creates.
God creates
God brought everything that exists into being without the use of pre-existing materials. God created time, the physical world of matter, forces and energy out of nothing. He also made the spiritual world of angels. God created things from what He created earlier. For example, He made animals, birds and Adam from dust and Eve from Adam (Gen. 2:7, 19, 21). There was nothing evil within God’s original creation (Gen. 1:31). And through the laws of genetics, variations can be created within the various types of creatures that God created. This limited variability helps creatures survive changes in their environment.
Creation is emphasised at the beginning of the books of Genesis, John and Hebrews. The Bible says that God created the world for His glory (Ps. 19:1; Isa. 6:3; 43:7; Rom. 1:20-21). In heaven, God the Father is praised, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will (God’s plan) they were created and have their being” (Rev. 4:11).
An architect is greater than a building, and an engineer is greater than a car, and a graphic artist is greater than an animated movie and a sculptor is greater than a pot. As a creator is greater than their creation, God is greater than anything in creation. He alone is to be worshipped.
But God’s work is more than planning and creating; He also sustains.
God sustains
The whole creation belongs to God and matters to Him. He cares for it. God sustains and preserves the creation He has brought into being. This means that God is active in creation (nature) and in our lives. Without God’s sustenance, nature would cease to be. It’s like driving a car without using cruise control. The driver needs to keep pressing on the accelerator pedal to make it go and to keep it going.
The Bible says, “In Him (Christ) all things hold together” (Col. 1:17). And Jesus is “sustaining all things by His powerful word” (Heb. 1:3). The fundamental forces of nature are gravity, electromagnetism, and nuclear forces. Gravity holds the universe together, keeps planets in orbit and keeps the atmosphere, water, and us on planet earth. Electromagnetism keeps electrons in orbit around the atomic nucleus and binds atoms to one another to form molecules and compounds. And nuclear forces hold the nucleus of an atom together. Scientists believe that these forces are related, but they don’t know how. But we know how – Jesus holds all things together! He’s the common power.
God sustains nature. Jesus said that God provides for the birds and flowers (Mt. 6:25-34). He works through the processes of nature to provide for the needs of His creatures (Job 5:10; Ps. 104:10-28).
God also sustains humanity. We are in His care (Dt. 31:6). Jesus said that all the hairs of our head are numbered (Mt. 10:30). In Athens, Paul said that God “gives everyone life and breath and everything else” (Acts 17:25). Also, Christians are sustained through suffering. Writing from prison, Paul said that God will meet all our needs (Phil. 4:19).
But God’s work is more than planning, creating and sustaining; He also governs.
God governs
God has planned what is to occur and history is carrying out His intention. He works behind the scene so that events fulfil His plan. History is moving towards a definite goal. This means that God is active in history. God directs history. For example, God controlled:
– Nature when Elijah said it wouldn’t rain and there was a drought for 3.5 years (1 Ki. 17-18; Lk. 4:25; Jas 5:17).
– The rise and fall of nations (Dan. 2:21; Acts 17:26).
– Events in the lives of individuals. Hannah praised God, “The Lord brings death and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and raises up. The Lord sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts” (1 Sam. 2:6-7). David said, “my times are in your hands (Ps.31:15). And Paul realized that even before his birth, he had been set apart by God for a special work (Gal. 1:15-16).
Two illustrations come to my mind. SimCity is a city-building computer game, which was released in 1989. A person building a city in SimCity is like God directing history. And it’s like 3D virtual reality. Monash University have developed a virtual civilization of Angkor Wat in Cambodia as it was 1,000 years ago. 25,000 computer people are animated to perform tasks as four classes of people: residents, commuting workers, suppliers and visiting elites. Virtual reality gives audiences a sense of time and place. In real life it’s God who is directing history, and not a digital animator.
The government of God is when He directs the course of events to fulfil His purposes. For example, look at the history of the Jews. Although their future was threatened in Egypt, in Babylon, and in the holocaust, God has preserved them as a nation.
So God is sovereign. He rules. That’s what is meant by the term, the “kingdom of God”. David said, “His (God’s) kingdom rules over all” (Ps. 103:19).
God also redeems. He is waiting patiently for people to repent of their sin and rebellion (2 Pt. 3:9). He is calling the chosen and justifies them when they come (Rom. 8:28-30, 33-34). Then Christ and the Holy Spirit intercede on their behalf (Rom. 8:26-27; Heb. 7:25). And God makes them more like Jesus, which is called a “good work” (Phil. 1:6). Because no one can separate believers from the love of Christ, “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28; 31-39). So God is working for their good.
Meanwhile, He is preparing a place in heaven for the redeemed (Jn. 14:2). When Christ returns, God’s love, patience, holiness, mercy and grace towards sinners will be evident for all to see.
Lessons for us
We have seen that God plans, creates, sustains and governs. The planning is now past. And God has created in the past, but Christians are part of a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) and God promises a millennial kingdom (Rev. 20:1-6) and a new heaven and a new earth in the future (Rev. 21:1 – 22:5). On the other hand, God is actively sustaining and governing at present and into the future. What are the lessons for us in all these things that God does?
It is evident that God implements His plans. Because His plan included creation, He creates and He sustains His creation. Because His plan includes the history of nations and individuals, he governs history. Because His plan includes salvation, He redeems those who follow Him.
Because God has a good plan for creation, history and salvation; life has purpose and we are moving towards the time when God’s glory will be revealed.
Creation has value because God made it and sustains it. But, do we believe that God will meet all our needs? We can be confident that God will sustain us. Peter said, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you” (1 Pt. 5:7).
People have value because they are made in the image of God, because Jesus came as one of us, and because believers will be like Him in heaven.
What about when we are struggling in our circumstances? Let’s remember, God is sovereign. He rules. He knows what’s happening. He cares. Like Jesus said in the Garden of Gethsemane we can say, “Not my will, but yours (God’s) be done” (Lk. 22:42). God answers our prayers in accordance with His will (His plan). We can be assured that our life is in God’s hands, and that His plan for our lasting good, and for His glory, is being followed. He is always in control. God is with us in our struggles. He loves us so much that He gave His life for us. So, we can continue to trust God whatever our circumstances.
God is constantly working out His purpose in our lives, in the life of the church and in the world at large; sometimes visibly and sometimes unseen. So, although God rested on the day after creation, He is certainly busy today!
Conclusion
In the past God has planned and created, but now He sustains and governs His creation. And it’s good to know that we are part of God’s plan. So Brooks and Dunn were right and wrong – God is busy, but He’s not too busy to help us today!
References: Millard J. Erickson (2013) “Christian theology”. Third edition. Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI, USA.
Kaiser WC (2008) “The promise-plan of God”, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI, USA.
Written, April 2017
Also see: God is great
God is good
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God is good
In a world of evil, pain and suffering, some question whether God is good. Instead they claim that the God described in the Bible is cruel and definitely not good. But how do we define “good”? Is it what makes me happy? Is it what only happens in the short-term? It is being nice and politically correct? Or is it different to these?
What does the Bible reveal about God’s attributes, characteristics, nature or qualities? In this case we are looking at who God is, not what He does. Erickson (2013) divides these attributes into two categories: God’s greatness, and God’s goodness. My previous blogpost summarized aspects of God’s greatness.
This blogpost summarizes eight aspects of God’s goodness. They may be grouped into purity (holy, righteousness, and just), integrity (genuineness, honesty and faithfulness), and love (benevolent, gracious, merciful, and persistent).
God is Holy
The Bible says that God is holy (Ex. 15:11; 1 Sam. 2;2; Ps. 99:3). He is “high and exalted” (Is. 6:1; 57:15). In this context, the Hebrew word qadosh (Strongs #6918) means that God is separate from all of creation. The proper reaction to God’s holiness is awe and reverence (Ps. 99:3). Also, God is not wicked or evil. He “cannot be tempted by evil” (Jas. 1:13NIV). This means that God is absolutely pure and He is untouched by the evil in the world. So God is holy.
God is Righteous
David says, “The Lord is righteousness in all His ways” (Ps. 145:17). He always does what is right. Nothing He does is wrong. There is no sin or wickedness in Him (Ps. 92:15). In fact, He defines what’s right and what’s wrong. He’s the source of morality. God sets the standard of righteousness. And He commands only what is right (Ps. 19:7-9). So God is righteous.
God is Just
Isaiah says, “the Lord is a God of justice” (Isa. 30:18). Justice is when God requires others to follow His moral laws. The Bible says that sin has consequences and that God will punish sin. For example, although the wicked may prosper (Ps. 73:3-12), they will be ultimately destroyed (Ps: 73:17-20, 27). Although this justice may not be evident in the short-term, it is certain in the long-term. So God is just.
God has Integrity
Integrity includes genuineness (being true), honesty (telling the truth), and faithfulness (proving true). Jeremiah says “But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God, the eternal King” (Jer. 10:10). God is real, unlike many other gods. And His attributes are true. So God is genuine.
What God says is accurate. God cannot lie (Tit. 1:2; Heb. 6:18). God “does not lie or change His mind; for He is not a human being, that He should change His mind” (1 Sam. 15:29). Because of this and His omniscience, He can always be trusted. So God is honest.
God keeps all His promises; “God is not human, that He should lie, not a human being, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfil?” (Num. 23:19). So God is faithful.
God is Benevolent
God is loving and caring. Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16). This is a sacrificial, unselfish love, that seeks the good of others and which is called agape in Greek (Strongs #25). He died for His enemies, “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us … while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son” (Rom. 5:8-10). God’s benevolence extents to all humanity and to animals (Mt. 5:45; 6:26, 30; 10:29). So God is benevolent.
God is Gracious
God deals with us according to our need; not according to our merit, worthiness or what we deserve as sinners. He supplies underserved and unmerited favors. God told the Israelites, “The Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (Ex. 34:6-7). And Paul said, “In Him (Jesus) we have redemption through His blood (death), the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us” (Eph. 1:7-8). Our salvation comes through God’s grace: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). This is God’s response to the fact that we have rebelled against Him and so deserve to be banished from His presence forever. So God is gracious.
God is Merciful
God is also compassionate; “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him (His faithful followers)” (Ps. 103:13). For example, when God rescued the Israelites from Egypt He said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering” (Ex. 3:7). Jesus also felt compassion for the physical and spiritual condition of the people He met; “When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt. 9:36). In response He “went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness” (Mt. 9:35). So God is merciful.
God is Persistent
Another aspect of God’s love is persistence. He withholds judgment and offers salvation and grace over long periods of time. David said, “But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” (Ps. 86:15). God often delays judgment so that people will repent and turn to Him (Rom. 2:4; 2 Pt. 3:15). It seems that God warned Noah’s generation for 120 years about the coming flood (Gen. 6:3; 1 Pt. 3:20). Also, He was patient with Israel even though they repeatedly rebelled against Him. And Christ’s second coming is delayed because God doesn’t want “anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Pt. 3:9). So God is persistent in His love.
God’s goodness in Scripture
The Bible refers repeatedly to God’s goodness. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are each said to be good (Neh. 9:20; Mt. 7:11; Jn. 10:11). God is inherently good and His actions are good – “You are good and what you do is good” (Ps. 119:68). The Hebrew word towb (Strongs #2896) means good and kind (Brown-Driver-Briggs).
The Israelites praised God with thanksgiving saying “He is good” because His love to them endures forever. (1 Chron. 16:34; Ps. 136:1, Jer. 33:11; Ezra 3:11). Reasons to praise God include being good, loving, and faithful – “the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations” (Ps. 100:5; 135:3). David gives reasons to praise God – “They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness” (Ps. 145:7). According to the parallelism of Hebrew poetry, His righteousness is said to be equivalent to His abundant goodness.
David appeals to God’s goodness when he prays for forgiveness – “you, Lord, are good” (Ps. 25:7). He mentions God’s goodness in association with His guidance of those who fear Him – “Good and upright is the Lord” (Ps. 25:8). David is confident that God will answer his prayer for deliverance from his enemies – “the goodness of the Lord” (Ps. 27:13). When he was being pursued by his enemies, David used a figure of speech urging people to trust and experience God – “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8; 1 Pt. 2:3). The context is the Lord delivering the righteous in their sufferings. And when David prayed for deliverance from enemies, he praised God for being forgiving and good – “You, Lord, are forgiving and good” (Ps. 86:5).
Moses saw that God’s goodness included His mercy, forbearance, love, faithfulness, forgiveness, and judgment (Ex. 33:19; 34:6-7). And Hezekiah appealed to God’s goodness when he prayed for forgiveness of those who ate the Passover without purifying themselves – “the Lord, who is good” (2 Chron. 30:18).
Jesus reminded the rich ruler that only God is intrinsically good – “No one is good—except God alone” (Mt. 19:17; Mk. 10:18; Lk. 18:19). The Greek word agathos (Strongs #18) means inherently good (Thayer’s Greek Lexion). It describes what originates from God.
Peter alludes to Psalm 34:8 – “now that you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Pt. 2:3). Since they have personally experienced God’s goodness, they should lay aside the sins mentioned in verse 1. This shows that we must personally experience God to know His goodness.
The kindness (goodness), love and grace of God is why He acted to save fallen humanity (Tit. 2:11; 3:4). The Greek word chrestotes (Strongs #5544) is translated goodness, or kindness (Thayer’s Greek Lexion).
God and humanity
These are all positive moral attributes because God has no negative moral attributes (sin). And God exercises these attributes all the time, they are part of His character. Because God is good, everything He does is good. For example, “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him” (Rom. 8:28).
The attributes listed above can also be found in humanity, but not on a continuous basis. They are part of humanity being created in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:27). People can be holy, righteous and just, but not when they are sinful. People can be genuine, honest and faithful, but not when they are sinful. People can be benevolent, gracious, merciful and persistent in love, but not when they are sinful. This means that people don’t exercise these attributes all the time like God does.
The fact that we can share these attributes with God would help Christians to represent Him on earth. Through them we can “participate in the divine nature” (2 Pt. 1:4). For example, our new self is righteous and holy (Heb. 12:10; Eph. 4:24). And Christians and churches are urged to be holy (2 Cor. 7:1; Eph. 5:25-27). Although they are already positionally holy through Christ, they are to become holy in practice.
Lessons for us
Our God is good because He is pure, trustworthy and loving. His purity is evident as holiness, righteousness and justice. His trustworthiness is evident as genuineness, honesty and faithfulness. And His love is evident as benevolence, grace, mercy and persistence. In this respect God is unique, being far above humanity and any other deity. He’s greater than all other gods. So He deserves our praise and thanks!
That’s how the Bible defines what is “good”. Because God is pure, He deserves our respect. Because God is trustworthy, let’s trust His message in the Bible. Because God is loving, let’s accept His love shown in Christ’s sacrifice. And because God is good, let’s follow and serve Him.
References
Millard J. Erickson (2013) “Christian theology”. Third edition. Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI, USA.
Written, April 2017
Also see: Good is great
What God does
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