Jesus Unmasked: The Truth Will Shock You (15 page)

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the
trumpet of God
, and the dead in Christ will rise first (
1 Thess. 4:16).

Perhaps the Feast of Trumpets was a foreshadowing of Jesus which has not yet been fulfilled, but will be fulfilled by Him when He returns to earth for Judgment Day.

6. The Day of Atonement: Yom Kippur, Tenth Day of Seventh Month

The
Lord
spoke to Moses, saying,
“On exactly the
tenth day of this seventh month
is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the
Lord
.
You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a
day of atonement
, to make atonement on your behalf before the
Lord
your God
(Lev. 23:26–28).

The high priest was to present two male goats. The first was sacrificed for the nation’s sins.

He [the high priest] shall take the
two goats
and present them before the
Lord
at the doorway of the tent of meeting.
Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the
Lord
and the other lot for the
scapegoat
.
Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the
Lord
fell, and make it a
sin offering
(Lev. 16:7–9).

Jesus is our sin offering (Rom. 8:3). But Jesus is also the second goat on the Day of Atonement.

But the goat on which the lot for the
scapegoat
fell shall be presented alive before the
Lord
, to make
atonement
upon it, to send it into the
wilderness
as the scapegoat (Lev. 16:10).

Jesus, our scapegoat, was crucified outside of the city.

For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned
outside the camp
. Therefore
Jesus also
, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered
outside the gate
[of the city of Jerusalem] (Heb. 13:11–12).

Jesus plays a dual role in the symbolism of the Day of Atonement. In ignominy, Jesus was crucified outside of the city that we might be shameless.

7. The Feast of Tabernacles or Booths: Fifteenth through Twenty-third Day of the Seventh Month

Again the
Lord
spoke to Moses, saying,
“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the
Feast of Booths
for seven days to the
Lord
.
On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work of any kind.
For
seven days
you shall present an offering by fire to the
Lord
. On the
eighth day
you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the
Lord
; it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work (Lev. 23:33–36).

To commemorate God’s faithfulness and supernatural provision during the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, the Jews were to live in tents (tabernacles/booths) for seven days and then hold a sacred assembly on day eight (Num. 29:35).

Jesus became flesh and “tented” among us (John 1:14). Presently we are the temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19–20). In the future, at Christ’s Second Coming, He will again “tabernacle” with those who are His.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will
dwell
among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them (Rev. 21:3).

The Last Great Day of the Feast of Tabernacles/Booths: Day Eight

Each morning of the feast, at the time of the sacrifice, the priests would draw water in a golden vessel from the pool of Siloam and carry it to the temple to be poured out. This commemorated the water God gave the Jews in the wilderness and served as a symbol that when Messiah comes, the whole world will know God as “water covers the earth” (Isa. 11:9).

Don’t miss this picture. During the last great day of the festival, while this elaborate, holy, symbolic gesture was happening, Jesus did something shocking. Again.

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone
thirsts
, let him come to Me and
drink
. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of
living water
” (John 7:37–38; NKJV).

Talk about chutzpah — Jesus was basically saying, “What you are doing is a picture of ME.”

Did the Jews understand what Jesus was saying? Upon hearing Jesus’ words, some responded by confessing that He was the Messiah, others doubted and some wanted to kill Him (John 7:41–44).

If that weren’t enough, what happens next has to be one of the most powerful scenes in the entire Bible.

The Light of the World

During the seven-day celebration of the Feast of Booths, torches were lit to illuminate Jerusalem. The number of lights increased each day so that by day eight on the feast day, Jerusalem was lit up like a rocket. On this day, men carried torches around the temple and placed them in the ground.

This light was to be a symbol of the Messiah who would be a light to the Gentile nations (Isa. 49:6). Jerusalem was ablaze. In the midst of this, with Jerusalem lit up like a comet, Jesus proclaimed:

I am the
Light of the world
; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the
Light of life
” (
John 8:12).

Zing. Pow. Lights out.

While the Jews were festively celebrating with torches blazing everywhere, Jesus’ words were absolutely bodacious. “Hey. Those torches you are carrying? The light they give is a picture of Me. You think Jerusalem is a bright light? I am the light of the world!”

Seven hundred years before Jesus began His ministry, the prophet Isaiah predicted, “
The people who walk in darkness
w
ill see a great
light
;
t
hose who live in a dark land,
t
he
light
will shine on them” (Isa. 9:2).

The prophet was right — a great light shined in Israel: “In Him was life, and the life was the
Light of men
(John 1:4). Unfortunately, the darkness did not understand who Jesus was: “The
Light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:5).

Jesus came and dwelt with His people. He was Immanuel, “God with us.” Seven hundred years before Jesus was born to a virgin named Mary, the prophet Isaiah predicted:

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name
Immanuel
(Isa. 7:14).

There He was, God with them, and the Jews rejected Him. Shockingly, people did not understand what Jesus, the Light of the World, was saying to them. They did not connect the obvious dots from the old covenant to Him. They were blind and could not see.

You Are Walking in the Light

God has opened your eyes and you have seen the Light. You have repented and placed your faith in the Light of the World, Jesus. Just like the Jews who were given permission to celebrate God at seven festivals, Christians have the supreme reason to celebrate and have joy. Every day.

Joy vs. Happiness

Happiness is nice, but it is fleeting, flimsy, and false. It can never bring lasting, profound joy because its source is shaky.

The world offers happiness through three things:

1. People

2. Places

3. Things

Here’s what the world’s offer sounds like:

1. If you have a great spouse, you will be happy.

2. If you hang out at interesting places, you will be happy.

3. If you just purchase a __________, you will be happy.

To be sure, the stuff of the world brings happiness, but it is a fleeting feeling.

1. People are sinners and people will disappoint. Babies are a blessing, but happiness is not a word that springs to mind when you are changing your nine thousandth diaper. Spouses are wonderful, but they can do wicked things. You know that if you have been married for at least a day.

2. Places are interesting, but even Tuscany is mundane for the people who get to live there every day.

3. Purchases rust, bust, or break down. That new car smell makes you happy, but it only lasts until your teenager rides shotgun with his shoes off while eating Taco Bell. Houses are great, but unless you love mowing the lawn, and dusting, and cleaning, and repairing, and painting, and replacing roofs, the happiness factor is about a zero on a scale of one to ten.

Happiness is nice, but joy is better.
God offers a joy that is profound, lasting and true.

For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and
joy
in the Holy Spirit
(Rom. 14:17).

You will make known to me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of
joy
;

In Your right hand there are pleasures forever
(Ps. 16:11).

We have everlasting joy not because of what people do for us, but because of what God has done for us.

The
Lord
has done great things for us; we are
glad
(Ps. 126:3).

And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with
joy inexpressible
and full of glory,
obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls
(1 Pet. 1:8–9).

The Christian life is marked by joy.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy
, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control (Gal. 5:22–23).

Knowing that, the Christian can have joy even when life is hard.

Consider it
all joy
, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing
(James 1:2–4).

The world offers happiness and God offers joy. If you are in Christ, you have a joy unspeakable.

You Are Walking in Darkness

If you have not repented and trusted, the best thing you will ever experience is fleeting happiness. Will you continue to stumble in the dark following the Prince of Darkness? Or will you respond to the Light of the World by repenting and placing your trust in Him?

Jesus wants you to have joy.

These things I have spoken to you so that
My joy
may be in you, and that
your joy
may be made full (John 15:11).

Did you catch that? Jesus wants you to have the joy that He has. Jesus is the God of joy. He is not a crabby, curmudgeonly old man in the sky. He wants you to have joy because He is joy.

Why are you settling for the lesser thing?

Chapter 15 — The Offices of Jesus

Some things never change. The Jews wandered the desert for 40 years (Num. 14:34). Please note, they did not find their way to the Promised Land because Moses pulled over and asked for directions. Typical male.

It was God who finally gave the green light for the Jews to enter the “land flowing with milk and honey” (Exod. 33:3), but only after the rebellious generation had died (Num. 14:35).

Everything that we have already focused on in the Old Testament occurred from the first book (Genesis) through the fifth book (Deuteronomy). These five books, authored by Moses, are known as the Pentateuch (five books) and span the years between 4000
b.c
. and 1400
b.c
.

The rest of the Old Testament is mostly a history of the nation of Israel in the Promised Land. As you read through the Old Testament, remember, you are seeing the results of the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants.

God wanted Israel to be a set-apart nation that would produce the Savior of the world. When the Jews were disobedient and unfaithful to the Mosaic Covenant, God promised to punish them by having a warring neighbor hassle them. When we see God rescuing them, it is because God is faithful to fulfill His promises in the Abrahamic covenant.

The Big Picture

Remember, the Old Testament is not merely a history book. It is a history book with theology that records God’s faithfulness to the covenant He cut with Abraham to provide a land, nation and seed.

If you fail to remember that the Old Testament is a story of God’s faithfulness to His chosen people so a Messiah could be raised up from a set-apart nation, you will be mislead by preachers who use Old Testament
descriptions
of events and turn them into
prescriptions
. Here is an example.

A Typical Bad Sermon

In the middle of the fifth century
b.c.
, the Jews were under the rule of the Persians. Jerusalem was in shambles. The Prophet Ezra was given permission to rebuild the temple, but the city of Jerusalem was without a wall, leaving it very vulnerable.

The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and
the wall
of Jerusalem is
broken down
and its gates are burned with fire (Neh. 1:3).

In the meantime, a Jew named Nehemiah had a bittersweet job in Persia. He was the king’s cupbearer. That meant he had the awesome/scary job of tasting the king’s food before the king consumed the meal. This was awesome because Nehemiah was allowed to nibble great food. It was also scary because the food could kill you if someone was trying to poison the king.

Nehemiah had daily access to the king, and he developed a relationship with the most powerful man in the world. Because Nehemiah was grieved over the state of his beloved Jerusalem (Neh. 1:4), he prayed fervently and summoned up the courage to ask the king of Persia if he could return to Jerusalem to build a wall. Permission was remarkably granted and Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to build a fortified wall around the city.

Countless sermons from this story have had titles like:

> Be a Nehemiah leader!

> Pray like Nehemiah!

> Be a wall builder!

Are there lessons in the Book of Nehemiah on leadership? Perhaps, but that is hardly the point of the story. The Book of Nehemiah was written and recorded to show God’s faithfulness to His promise to Abraham that there would always be a land, nation, and seed.

The Jews in Israel had failed to heed the warnings of the Mosaic covenant. Because of their disobedience, God delivered on His promise to punish the Jews for their lack of faithfulness to the Mosaic covenant (Deut. 28). The historical details of Nehemiah are recorded to show God’s miraculous delivery of the captive Jews in order to fulfill His promises contained in the Abrahamic covenant.

To read the Book of Nehemiah for leadership lessons is like reading
A Tale of Two Cities
to learn now to be a good lawyer. It’s like reading
Moby Dick
to discover fishing tips. It’s like reading
The Hobbit
for advice on dealing with hairy feet. It misses the point.

The history of the Old Testament is to demonstrate God’s faithfulness to both the Mosaic and Abrahamic covenants. Punishment and redemption are the perpetual themes.

After the Jews entered the Promised Land, we see God’s faithfulness over and over again. We also learn how the nation of Israel was governed; God used three offices to govern His people. These too are pictures of Jesus.

Three Offices

The three main offices of the Old Testament were: prophet, priest, and king.

When the Jews entered Canaan, soon to be renamed Israel, God ruled the people directly though a judge. Theocracy (God-rule) is the ideal form of government; you can’t do better than to have God as your leader.

Unfortunately, the Jews tired of having “just a judge” and clamored to have a king like the other nations, demonstrating that peer pressure is nothing new. Despite God’s warnings that kings will disappoint, the Jews insisted and God granted their request.

God used prophets to preach directly to the people or to instruct the king. Sometimes the king listened, most times he did not.

God also raised up prophets during the Jewish captivities in Assyria and Babylon (for example, Daniel and Ezekiel) as well as prophets after the exile (Ezra and Nehemiah). In other words, prophets were a big deal as they were the “voice of God.”

The Prophet’s Job

The prophet had one job: to proclaim the Word of the Lord. The prophet would hear from God in an audible or inaudible voice or dream and instruct the people or the king. Usually the “Word of the Lord” was a present command from God, but sometimes the prophets were given a peek into the future and could declare a future event.

Nasty Consequences

If the prophet inaccurately predicted the future, he was to be stoned to death (Deut. 18:22). While that seems severe, there is no greater sin than to claim to speak for God when you do not.

Did you catch that? There is no greater sin than misrepresenting God and His Word. Think of the most heinous crime imaginable and that is not nearly as horrific as mangling God’s Word or falsely speaking for Him. This is why false teachings and false teachers are still an abomination to God.

If you are following someone who has unsuccessfully predicted the future, you should run from that person and shout while looking back, “You are lucky this isn’t the Old Testament or you would be stoned to death as a false prophet.”

While prophets were occasionally given the ability to do a sign or wonder (Moses, Elijah, Elisha), the ultimate proof that a prophet was truly a man of God was his ability to predict the future.

When a prophet speaks in the name of the
Lord
, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the
Lord
has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it
presumptuously
; you shall not be afraid of him (Deut. 18:22).

The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the
Lord
has
truly
sent” (Jer. 28:9).

So when it comes to pass — as surely it will — then they will know that a prophet has been in their midst” (Ezek. 33:33).

David Blaine and David Copperfield can perform great illusions, but the only one who can accurately predict the future is God Himself. The sure test to know if a man was a true or false prophet was the accuracy of his predictions.

Modern-day False Prophets

The list of so-called prophets who have wrongly predicted the future is seemingly endless:

> Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon Church, predicted that Jesus would return in 56 years. Joseph Smith made that prediction in 1835.
1
Let’s see: 1,835 plus 50 = stoning.

> Ellen G. White, founder of the Seventh-day Adventists, predicted the end of the world would occur in 1843. And 1844. And 1845. And 1851. She should have been called, “Out,” after her first strike.

> Charles Taze Russell, founder of Jehovah’s Witnesses, made many false predictions in the six-volume set,
Studies in the Scriptures
, including the end of the world in 1915. Even if you are bad with dates, you will notice 1915 has come and gone.

> Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Christian Science cult, made more predictions than Nostradamus. The official Christian Science site lists one of her failed prophecies made in 1891, “The reason for asking, ‘Is the Universe, Including Man, Evolved by Atomic Force?’ is that Christian Science must answer that question to the world or all will be destroyed by fire in the year 2000.”
2

Even Y2K didn’t happen in 2000, let alone the entire planet destroyed by fire. If you follow Mary Baker Eddy, you are following a false prophet.

> David Koresh predicted the world would end in 1995. His world ended in 1992 when the federal government set the Branch Davidian compound on fire.

> Benny Hinn predicted that Fidel Castro would die before the year 2000. Duck, Benny, duck.

> Harold Camping disgracefully predicted the world would come to an end so many times that even he ultimately admitted he had no idea what he was talking about. When he biffed not once, but twice in 2011 alone, the
New York Times
reported, “Mr. Camping conceded that he had been wrong about the timing and had no evidence that the world would end soon. He offered an apology for his erroneous statements.”
3
Oops.

> There are a slew of so-called “New Apostles” (Paul Cain, Bob Jones, John Paul Jackson, Jim Goll, Mike Bickle, Bill Johnson) whose false prophecies are so verifiably false, even they admit they goof. Mike Bickle is on record saying:

Bob Jones was told that the general level of prophetic revelation in the church was about
65% accurate
at this time. Some are only about 10% accurate, a very few of the most mature prophets are approaching 85% to 95% accuracy. Prophecy is increasing in purity, but there is a still a
long way to go
for those who walk in this ministry. This is actually grace for the church now, because 100% accuracy in this ministry would bring a level of accountability to the church which she is too immature to bear at this time. It would result in too many Ananiases and Saphiras.
4

That’s funny; Ananias and Saphira were killed by God for lying (Acts 5:1–11).

“Now, obviously, probably
about 80%
of what’s in the Body of Christ that’s called prophecy is
fleshiness
. And so we’re in a day when we’re in such an immature stage of this. So much of what is called prophecy is not truly prophecy. So we realize that; so what’s our reaction to that? We don’t throw out the baby with the bath water. We say, “Lord, we don’t throw out prophecy. We ask You to mature it.” We don’t take it as serious in the early days as we will in the days to come.”
5

Throw out the baby with the bathwater? A 20 percent accuracy rate is closer to a stillborn in a sludge. These wolves make it sound like God has lowered His standard for prophets. He hasn’t.

If a prophet or a
dreamer of dreams
arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder,
and the sign or the wonder
comes true
, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, “Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,”
you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the
Lord
your
God is testing you
to find out if you love the
Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

You shall follow the
Lord
your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.
But that
prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death
, because he has counseled rebellion against the
Lord
your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the
Lord
your God commanded you to walk. So you shall
purge the evil
from among you (Deut. 13:1–5).

Run from false prophets and watch for flying rocks as you go.

Jesus Is the Greatest Prophet

The people who heard Jesus preach and watched Him perform miracles knew He was a prophet. That is why the two men who walked with the resurrected Jesus on the road to Emmaus said Jesus the Nazarene was
“a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people” (Luke 24:19).