Palm Sunday - The entry triumphal

Today is Palm Sunday, which commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem at the beginning of Holy Week.  This event is recorded in all four of the Gospels and considering that each Gospel was written by different individuals, the details of the event in all of the Gospels are remarkably the same.  There are minor additions to the story in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke.

Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem was not only to announce to the Jewish people that the Messiah had come, but it also fulfilled Old Testament prophecy.  In Daniel 9, Gabriel the archangel gave Daniel the prophecy that foretold when the Messiah would arrive.  Gabriel didn't give exact dates, however; he said that 70 weeks had been decreed for the Jewish people and for Jerusalem.  Bible scholars have determined that each "week" equals 70 years.  After sixty-nine "weeks," the Messiah would be "cut off," or put to death. Chuck Missler did the math (Thanks, Chuck! Math was my worst subject in school) and determined the following:

This includes a mathematical prophecy. As we have noted in previous articles, the Jewish (and Babylonian) calendars used a 360-day year; 69 weeks of 360-day years totals 173,880 days. In effect, Gabriel told Daniel that the interval between the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem until the presentation of the Messiah as King would be 173,880 days.

Chuck then gives us even more important information:

The commandment to restore and build Jerusalem was given by Artaxerxes Longimanus on March 14, 445 B.C. . . .This [the Triumphal Entry - DMS] is the only occasion that Jesus presented Himself as King. It occurred on April 6, 32 A.D. When we examine the period between March 14, 445 B.C. and April 6, 32 A.D., and correct for leap years, we discover that it is 173,880 days exactly, to the very day!

That's really incredible, but as we all know, God does all things in His own way.  He does give us clues in His Word, and we just have to dig them out.

Another Old Testament prophecy that Jesus fulfilled was in Zechariah 9:9 when He rode into Jerusalem on a colt.  "Colt" in those days referred to a young donkey and not a young horse like we think of in modern times.

Titus Kennedy, in an Adventures blog post on the website Drive Thru History titled "The Triumphal Entry," compared Jesus' entry into Jerusalem to the triumphal entry of ancient Israeli kings and the triumphal entry of Roman emperors.

According to the list of Triumphs on the Fasti Triumphales, which concludes with a triumph in 19 BC, by the time of Augustus the triumph had become part of the Imperial cult, and only the Emperor could receive this honor and recognition as king and divine (Dio Cassius; Suetonius; Pliny). In a comparable fashion, Jesus began the Triumphal Entry outside the boundaries of Jerusalem in Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, rode on a donkey like the kings of ancient Israel, descended down the road into the Kidron Valley, entered the city through the Susa Gate, then went to the Temple where He cleansed it of merchants and moneychangers. The similarities to the Roman Imperial Triumph and the ancient Israelite kinship procession are obvious. Therefore, the Triumphal Entry of Jesus had significance and implications for both the cultures of Israel and Rome, as Jesus carried out traditions associated with both an ancient king, conquering victor, and the Divine all in one procession. 

So Jesus' triumphal entry proclaimed that not only was He the Jewish Messiah and King, He was also the spiritual King of the Gentiles as well.  The Jewish people recognized on Palm Sunday that Jesus was the Messiah.  Yet five days later, those same people chanted for Jesus to be crucified and that His blood would be on them and on their children.  Because the people rejected Jesus as their Messiah, the prophecy in Daniel 9:26 (". . .and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.") would be fulfilled in AD 70 when the Romans (the people of the prince that shall come) destroyed Jerusalem.  

Dear reader, has Jesus made his triumphal entry into your heart?  Is Jesus your Lord and Savior? He died for you on the Cross - all you have to do is repent of your sins and ask Jesus to rule in your heart and life. 

That's all for now. Thanks as always for reading!

Diane

Bibliography:
Chuck Missler, "Daniel's 70 Weeks:  The Precision of  Prophecy,"
https://www.khouse.org/articles/2004/552/
Titus Kennedy, "The Triumphal Entry - Drive Thru History,"
https://drivethruhistoryadventures.com/the-triumphal-entry/

Keep your lamp trimmed

In this blog post, I will look at the parable of the 5 wise virgins and the 5 foolish virgins.  This parable is found in Matthew 25: 1-13.  I’ll post the whole parable and then comment on the verses.

"Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.  Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,  but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ 


Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’  But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

“Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’  But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”

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Jesus told this parable to his disciples, and they were surely aware of the Old Testament wedding traditions.  The groom was to come in the middle of the night, after all things were ready, to take his bride from her father’s house.  The virgins were the ones attending the bride; in today’s vernacular, they were the bridesmaids.  They knew the time was close and that the groom was coming to take his bride soon, but they were unaware of the exact date and hour. 

The wise virgins took extra oil with them in their flasks in case their lamps ran out.  They were unsure how long it would be until the groom came, so they wanted to make sure they had enough oil. Oil is one of the symbols of the Holy Spirit.  When we are born again, we receive the Holy Spirit through Jesus.  By spending time in the Word and in prayer, we can keep the oil of the Holy Spirit renewed in us.

The shout of “Here’s the groom! Come out to meet him,” reminds me of Revelation 4, where Jesus tells John, “Come up here!” and he was instantly transported to heaven. 1 Thessalonians 4:16  reveals that we will be called to heaven with a shout and the blast of a trumpet at the Rapture. 

The wise virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps at the call. They kept their flasks filled with oil.  The foolish virgins, however, didn’t keep their flasks filled, so they lost their chance to attend the wedding banquet because the master didn’t know who they were.  He didn’t know who they were because they didn’t spend any time with him. 

When the foolish virgins asked the wise virgins for some of their oil, the wise virgins refused to give them any of their oil because there wouldn’t be enough oil for all.   The foolish virgins should have brought their own oil in their flasks, which is obtained by spending more time with the Lord and being filled with the Holy Spirit.  The oil of the Holy Spirit in you is your own.  We each need our own supply of oil of the Holy Spirit.

As time passes and Jesus has not yet come back for His bride, we can become spiritually lazy and we can “fall asleep.” If we “fall asleep,” we will not be ready when the Bridegroom comes.  Friend, take a look at your faith. Are you staying filled with the Holy Spirit by spending time in God’s Word and spending time in prayer?  Will you be ready when the shout comes and the trumpet sounds?  Or will you not have enough oil of the Holy Spirit?  Will you be unprepared?  Will you be one of the foolish virgins who the Lord will say He doesn’t know?  Jesus said in the parable that we should be alert because we don’t know the day or hour of His coming.

If you have “fallen asleep,” take time today to repent of your spiritual laziness and spend more time with the Lord in prayer and His Word so you can know Him more and He can say He knows you. When the time is right and all is ready, Jesus will come back and claim His bride (the church).  You don’t want to be left behind when the trumpet sounds.   All of the events going on in the world today means the Lord’s return is closer than ever before.  Maranatha! 

Thanks for reading! See you next time!

Diane

Garbage in, garbage out

In Matthew 15, the Pharisees asked Jesus why His disciples didn't wash their hands before they ate.  Now the Pharisees weren't talking about normal hand washing, like we do today before we eat.  The Pharisees had a ceremonial way to wash their hands and evidently the disciples' method of hand washing wasn't the "right way."

After answering their question with a question about parental support, Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites.  The Pharisees criticized the disciples for not following tradition, but they encouraged people to break one of the Ten Commandments by not honoring their parents.  Jesus gathered all the people to Him and told them that the food they ate did not defile them (thereby making all food clean), but what came out of their mouth did defile them.

Peter asked Jesus what He meant.  Here's what it says in Matthew 15:16-20 (all Scriptures NJKV unless otherwise referenced): "So Jesus said, 'Are you also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,  blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.'"

Things haven't changed since Jesus' time - people still have evil thoughts; they still commit murder, adultery, and fornication (i.e., sex outside the marital relationship); they still steal and lie; and they still use the Lord's name as a swear word.  Jesus used food as a way to explain what He meant since that was the easiest way for the people to understand, but I believe if He were walking the earth now, He would use TV shows, movies, books, popular music and magazines to make His point.

Just look at what TV shows, books, etc. the world follows.  They have lots of violence, sex, curse words, homosexual relationships, sexual relationships outside of marriage, etc. When people watch or read this stuff, it influences their behavior.  Take a look at the behavior of the world around us - there is lots of violence, crime, and bad behavior.  In more modern terminology, garbage in, garbage out. 

One of the first things I noticed about my husband after he got saved is that he stopped watching certain shows on TV because they were too raunchy.  When we get saved, our tastes in music, TV shows, books, magazines, etc. should change.  The desire to follow what the world follows should disappear. Paul gives us excellent instruction in Philippians 4:8 - "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things." If we meditate and think about only good things, the bad things will hold no appeal for us and they will leave our mind.


Are born again Christians supposed to do what the world does?  The Bible says no.  We are to be separate from the world. Look at the book of Leviticus for an example.  God gave His people rules and statutes before they entered the Promised Land so that they would not behave like the pagan nations around them.  He wanted them to be holy and set apart for Him. In the New Testament, Paul instructs us in Romans 12:2, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." As to those who are in the world, Paul writes in Philippians 3:19, "whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things."

Are we Christians to curse or use bad language?  Of course not!  Ephesians 4:29 (NLT) says: "Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them." James 3:10 says: "Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so." We should also not use God's name as a curse word.  In Exodus 20, which lists the Ten Commandments, God tells us in verse 7 (NLT), “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name." Psalm 139:20 (NLT) speaks of those who are worldly:  "They blaspheme you; your enemies misuse your name.."


We should do our very best not to put all this bad stuff into our minds.  However, sometimes our flesh wins out over our spirit and we watch or do things we're not supposed to. If we do mess up, we know that if we confess our sin to the Father, we will be forgiven. 

That's all for now.  Thanks for reading!  See you next time!

Diane

Shield me

There are many names for God in the Bible, both names that describe God and names that are titles for God. As I was reading in Psalms, I was struck by a name for God that we don't hear mentioned much, and that is the name "shield." We usually think of a shield as that large piece of metal that a knight in the days of old would hold to protect him from swords and spears, but according to Merriam-Webster, another definition of "shield" is "one that protects or defends." So "shield" is shorthand for a protector and a defender, both of which are attributes of God.

Below are some verses I found that reference God as a shield. These are some of my favorites, but there are more than just these; a search will turn up several other verses.

2 Samuel 22:31 (NLT): God's way is perfect. All the Lord's promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.

Psalm 3:3 (NLT): But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, and the One who lifts up my head.

Psalm 5:12 (NLT): For you bless the godly, O Lord: you surround them with your shield of love. (I really like that verse!)

Proverbs 30:5 (NLT): Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to those who come to him for protection.

Just as we who are earthly parents want to protect our children from anything that might hurt them, God our heavenly Father wants to protect us from danger and harm. Instead of using a large piece of metal to protect us, God Himself surrounds us (see Psalm 3:3 above). Not only does He protect us from physical harm, He surrounds us with a shield of love, as in Psalm 5:12 above. That shield of love comforts us when we are emotionally hurt. When we feel God's presence with us, we are feeling that "shield" that protects us.

Thanks for reading! See you soon!

Diane