“And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day. And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him. And when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground and said, "My lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant.” (Genesis 18:1-3 KJ21)
Patriarch Abraham is visited by the Lord. Quite a miracle, if you think of the fact that no man can see God and live:
“And He said, "Thou canst not see My face, for there shall no man see Me and live."” (Exodus 33:20 KJ21)
Some think that Abraham gets a visit from "the angel of the Lord" but I can't agree. This angel is specifically mentioned, like during the meeting with Hagar (after she fled from Sarah:
“And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain on the way to Shur. And he said, "Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? And whither wilt thou go?" And she said, "I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai." And the angel of the LORD said unto her, "Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands." And the angel of the LORD said unto her, "I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude."” (Genesis 16:7-10 KJ21)
We can read in Genesis 18:16 that the three "men" headed for Sodom and that Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. At the end of the chapter the three "men" split:
“And the LORD went His way, as soon as He had finished communing with Abraham; and Abraham returned unto his place. And there came two angels to Sodom at evening, and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom...” (Genesis 18:33-19:1a KJ21)
The three "men" were: the Lord and two angels.
Who do I mention this meeting?
Because I believe that Jesus referred to this meeting when He said to the Pharisees:
“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day; and He saw it and was glad." Then said the Jews unto Him, "Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?" Jesus said unto them, "Verily, verily I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am!"” (John 8:56-58 KJ21)
I do believe that Messiah Jesus visited Abraham in the plains of Mamre, and it's because of this:
In the Bible the word "Lord" stands for the Name of God: "JHWH".
Together with many others I pronounce this Name, with great respect, as "Jahweh". This Name can be found in several Biblical names like f.i. Elijah, Abijah, Adonijah, Urijah, Jehudijah and Malchijah. I do believe this Name is not the Name of the Father but of the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Jesus said: “I and My Father are one."” (John 10:30 KJ21)
Didn't Jesus show us the Father? Didn't He say:
“...He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9b KJ21)
The name "Emmanuel" is interpreted as "God with us" which literally took place when Jesus walked around in Israel.
The name "Jesus", from the Hebrew "Joshua", is interpreted as "Jahweh saves".
Before the birth of the Saviour the angel gave the following instructions to Joseph:
“And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS, for He shall save His people from their sins."” (Matthew 1:21 KJ21)
When Jesus orders His disciples to baptize the future followers, He doesn't say "Names" but (just one) Name:
“Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 28:19 KJ21)
Why all this about Abraham and the Name of God?
If indeed Jesus is the Lord Who visited Abraham, the following will be easier to comprehend:
“Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished. And half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley, and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north and half of it toward the south.” (Zechariah 14:1-4 KJ21)
When there really is NO way out for Israel, Messiah Jesus comes to the rescue. He returns to the same spot as where He left the earth, the Mount of Olives:
“And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into Heaven." Then they returned unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day’s journey.” (Acts 1:10-12 KJ21)
Then Jesus returns as the triumphant Messiah, the way the people of Israel expected Him and still do.
The two of Emmaus expressed their expectation as follows:
“But we trusted that it had been he who should have redeemed Israel...” (Luke 24:21a KJ21)
They hoped for a Messiah Who would deliver them from the Romans.
We all got a Messiah Who freed us from evil and redeemed us with the Father!:
“But now in Christ Jesus, ye who once were far off have been brought nigh by the blood of Christ. For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that He might make in Himself one new man out of the two, so making peace, and that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby. He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were nigh;” (Ephesians 2:13-17 KJ21)
Shall we recognize the Messiah when He returns?
There have been so many pseudo-Messiahs, misleading their followers, ruining them and worse. Our Redeemer warned us for them:
“And Jesus answered and said unto them, "Take heed that no man deceive you; for many shall come in My name, saying, ‘I am Christ,’ and shall deceive many.” (Matthew 24:4-5 KJ21)
Sincere Christians do not have to be afraid to miss the return of Jesus, we will meet the Lord in the air:
“For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 KJ21)
The world will not be able to overlook the return of the Messiah.
He will come with so much Power and Majesty (see the earlier quoted verses of Zechariah 14) to punish evil, the whole world will witness it:
“Behold, He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him, and they also who pierced Him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so. Amen.” (Revelation 1:7 KJ21)
The people of Israel, the Jews - "they also who pierced Him" - will see their (and our) Messiah.
What happens next?
"all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him"
Why?
Because they will all realize that all their wrong acts, their disbelief will come out. They have ignored the Man Who sacrifized Himself for them, they have ignored the God Who lovingly reached out His hand to them.
Are you ready for the coming of the Messiah, ready for Jesus? Or are you still wandering like a lost sheep? Seek Jesus today, He is waiting for you and promises:
“I am the Good Shepherd; the Good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep. But he that is a hireling and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep and fleeth; and the wolf catcheth them and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth because he is a hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd, and know My sheep and am known by Mine. As the Father knoweth Me, even so know I the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.” (John 10:11-15 KJ21)
No comments:
Post a Comment