Bible perplexities, small group leadership

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Hades, Sheol, Hell, Heaven, Paradise and More

Ever get confused over words like Hades, Sheol, paradise, and New Jerusalem?

Let’s clear up the confusion and make sense of where people will spend the afterlife. We’ll look first at neutral names for the realm of the dead. Then we’ll dive into designations for the places we don’t want to go. Finally, we’ll tackle the titles for the spaces of bliss.

Words Describing the Realm of the Dead

These words can mean simply the realm of the dead; that is, the place where a person’s spirit resides until the resurrection. The following verse explains what happens when the physical body dies:

The dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Ecclesiastes 12:7

The Jews thought this realm was a place where spirits awaited the resurrection of their bodies, with a separation between the spirits of the righteous and the spirits of the wicked. Unfortunately, some translations (such as the King James Version) translate the words below as “hell,” causing confusion as to whether the righteous and even Jesus tarried in hell.

Sheol

In the Old Testament, Sheol refers to the realm of the dead, death, grave, or depths.1

I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death. O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting?

Hosea 13:14

Abaddon

Abaddon means destruction or death. It’s often another name for the realm of the dead.2

Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord; how much more the hearts of the children of man!

Proverbs 15:11

The word is used only once in the New Testament. There it’s the name of “the angel of the bottomless pit” (Revelation 9:11).

Hades

Hades is the realm of the dead in the New Testament. When the New Testament quotes the Old Testament, it translates Sheol as Hades.3

For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.

Acts 2:27
"Parable of the Rich Man and the Beggar Lazarus"
Codex Aureus Epternacensis (Golden Gospels), Illuminated Manuscript, c. 1035-1040 (Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Words Describing Places of Punishment

There are current places of punishment where the wicked abide until the Judgment. After the Judgment, residents move to the final place of punishment.

The Current State of Hell

Hades

Sometimes Hades refers more specifically to the current place of punishment within the realm of the dead. For example, in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, the rich man recognizes Abraham and Lazarus and asks Abraham to send Lazarus to him with water. But Abraham says there is a great chasm between the two parts of the realm of the dead that no one can traverse.

The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.

Luke 16:22–23

At other times, Hades refers to the final state of hell.4

And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

Matthew 11:23

The Current Place of Imprisonment

Some fallen angels are described as imprisoned.

Abyss

The abyss is a place of imprisonment for demons. (In Romans 10:7, however, it’s another name for the current realm of the dead. Terms sometimes overlap.)5

And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.

Luke 8:31

Tartarus

Tartarus is used only once in the New Testament. Although it’s translated “hell,” it speaks of a place of imprisonment for fallen angels.6

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell [tartarus] and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment.

2 Peter 2:4

The Final State of Hell

Unbelievers will come before the Judgment Seat in either their disembodied state or reunited with their old bodies (reanimated rather than resurrected in the full New Testament sense). They will be judged and then confined to an eternity away from God’s presence.7

Hell (Gehenna)

The name Gehenna comes from the Valley of Hinnom, where apostate Jews offered human sacrifices. Jesus equates it with the final state of hell. In the verse below, Gehenna is translated “hell.”8

“And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’”

Mark 9:47–48

Lake of Fire

This is synonymous with hell. It’s the final abode of the devil, the fallen angels, unbelievers, Death, and Hades.9

And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Revelation 20:10

In this next passage, “the dead” refers to humans.

And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:13–15

Death and Hades will have served their purpose, and so will enter hell.10

Words Describing Places of Comfort

When the physical bodies of saints die, their spirits go to a place of comfort within the realm of the dead. It goes by several names, including heaven. But the word heaven has five meanings in the Bible, three of which are unrelated to a place of comfort. Let’s look at these first.

Meanings of the Word “Heaven” Unrelated to Places of Comfort

Sky

In Jewish writings, the sky is called heaven or the first heaven. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

James 5:18

Physical Cosmos

The physical cosmos is called heaven or the second heaven. It contains the stars and planets.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1

Figure of Speech for “God”

Heaven is often used as a substitution for “God” (a figure of speech known as metonymy). Thus, “kingdom of heaven” is synonymous with “kingdom of God.”

“Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.”

Mark 11:30

Sometimes kingdom of heaven refers to God’s current rule in believers’ hearts on earth.11

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.

Matthew 13:47

With those meanings of heaven out of the way, let’s turn to words describing the current place of comfort.

The Current State of Heaven

Heaven, Third Heaven

The fourth meaning of the word heaven is the unseen spiritual realmwhere God’s throne and celestial beings reside. This is sometimes called the third heaven.

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.

2 Corinthians 12:2

Paradise

Paradise is synonymous with third heaven, as can be seen by the verse following the last quoted.

And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows

2 Corinthians 12:3

Jesus told the thief on the cross that he would take him to paradise that day (Luke 23:43).

Abraham’s Bosom

In the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, angels carry Lazarus’s spirit to Abraham’s side (or bosom). This is synonymous with paradise and third heaven. A great chasm exists between the current state of hell and the current state of heaven such that no one can cross from one to the other (Luke 16:26).

The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side.

Luke 16:22–23

At Home with the Lord

Paul describes the current place of comfort as being away from the body but at home with Jesus.

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:6–8

The Book of Revelation shows the current place of comfort as being in God’s presence. John writes:

After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.

Revelation 4:1-2

While in the current state of heaven, John sees this:

I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.

Revelation 6:9

The Final State of Heaven

God will resurrect the bodies of the spirits of those whose names are written in the Book of Life. The resurrected bodies will be glorious, immortal, and powerful. God will create or renew the heavens and the earth. Then believers will dwell with the Lamb and God in the new heavens and earth.

Heaven

The fifth meaning of the word heaven is the final dwelling place of those who worship God. It is where believers receive their inheritance and rewards.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Matthew 6:19–20

Heavenly Country

Hebrews calls our final abode a better, heavenly country.

But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Hebrews 11:16

New Heaven and Earth, Holy City, New Jerusalem

The book of Revelation expands on believers’ final dwelling place as being in the new heaven and earth.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Revelation 21:1–4

Scholars differ as to whether the new Jerusalem refers to a place, a people, or both.12

In Summary

So there it is. Sheol and Hades are the main names in the Bible for the realm of the dead. Sometimes Hades describes the part of the realm of the dead where the wicked reside, known as the current state of hell, and sometimes it’s synonymous with the final state of hell. The final state of hell is called both hell and the lake of fire. The current state of heaven is called heaven, Paradise, and Abraham’s Bosom. The final state of heaven is called heaven, the new heaven and earth, the Holy City, and (perhaps) the new Jerusalem.

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Discovering the Identity of Jesus

Announcing: “Discovering the Identity of Jesus” online devotional, Discovering Good News in John release, and a live, online launch party!

Discovering the Identity of Jesus: A 7-Day Study of John 1

Discover the amazing things John 1 reveals about the identity of Jesus in this new FREE online devotional with seven 2-minute lessons! Perfect for busy people.

Discovering the Identity of Jesus
Free online devotional

Two Ways to Get the Devotional

The devotional is on the YouVersion Bible app (see the picture) as a Bible reading plan.

YouVersion
  1. If you have the YouVersion Bible app on your phone or tablet, open it and search the plans for my name or the devo title: “Discovering the Identity of Jesus.”
  2. Or use this link: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/31189/.

Tips for Using a YouVersion Plan

If you’ve never used a YouVersion plan before, after you tap Start Plan, you’ll see the first lesson open with links to the devotional and Scripture readings. Tap the first link to open and read the devo or Scripture. Then return to the lesson page using the menu or left arrow at the top left. If you don’t see a checkmark next to what you read, tap the circle to its left to mark it complete. When you’ve read the devo and the Scriptures, you’re done for the day! Return the next day and do the same for lesson 2.

Discovering Good News in John

July 5: Release of Discovering Good News in John!

If you pre-ordered Discovering Good News in John, it arrives today, July 5! Please post a photo of yourself with the book on social media, tag me, and add the hashtag #GoodNews. Add a link to the book on Amazon in the comments.

If you didn’t pre-order it, but plan to buy it soon, please order it on July 5 if you can. The release date is called Power Purchase Day because if a lot of orders come in on release day, then the book garners a #1 ranking in more categories and Amazon starts showing it to more people. Then more people hear about God’s good news, get in God’s Word, and come to know Christ. Here’s an affiliate link: https://amzn.to/376cTFd.

July 12, 5:30 Pacific: Live Launch Party

Join us for a live launch party broadcast on Bill and Pam Farrel Facebook page.

Discovering Good News In John launch party
Pam Farrel, Jean E. Jones, and Karla Dornacher
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Join the Launch Team for “Discovering Good News in John”!

I’m excited to announce that we’re forming the launch team for Discovering Good News in John(releasing July 5)! If you want to learn more about the book, click here.

So what is a launch team?

A launch team is a group of people who are excited about the release of a new book and are willing to help the author spread the word leading up to and after the release.

If you’re excited about Discovering Good News in John and its message of Jesus’s mission, ministry, and resurrection, we’d love to have you join the team.

What You Get

  • Early Access: We’ll send you a digital sneak peek of chapter 1 immediately. That way you can see and experience the GOOD NEWS in John.
  • Get to Know the Authors Better: Let the authors pour positive encouragement and a little of their expertise into you as you participate in a private Facebook Group.
  • Celebration! We’d love to share positive “Good News Goodies” of biblical hope and help. We’ll send them to your inbox for just a few weeks around launch.
  • Behind the Scenes: The unique behind-the-scenes experience of launching a new book into the world!
  • Friendships: The “Good News Good Vibe Tribe” will be led by author Pam Farrel. She has a heart to build into your life.
  • Make a Splash. By teaming with wonderful, enthusiastic, friendly folks like you, we can sprinkle out the GOOD NEWS of Discovering Good News in John far and wide. Our combined efforts will allow MORE people to hear of this vibrant new creative Bible study. It helps the Bible come alive and will enrich lives with God’s GOOD NEWS!
Launch team forming for Discovering Good News in John

What You Contribute

As a launch team member, you agree to:

  • Review the book on Amazon, Goodreads, and/or other book retailer sites after July 6.
  • Spread the word on social media and in person with family and friends. We’ll help you with ideas for effective posting and images you can share.
  • Be an engaged member of the team by participating in the Facebook group.

How to Join the Team

You just need to do two things:

1. Preorder the book at Amazon. The reason for a book purchase is that retailers are cracking down on reviews where the product hasn’t been purchased. For your review to be considered legitimate, the retailer needs to identify that you’ve actually bought the product.

2. Click here and fill out the form.

Thanks for your considering this, and please feel free to share this invitation with others.

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Why Do People Call Jesus “Messiah”?

When I first became a Christian, one of the things that puzzled me around Christmas time every year was why people called Jesus “Messiah.” I didn’t know what the word meant, but the way people said it made it sound like something super special. I was also confused over why people said the Jews were waiting for this Messiah.

So in this post, I’ll answer three questions:

  1. What does messiah mean?
  2. Why were Jews waiting for a messiah?
  3. What New Testament word is equivalent to messiah?

1. What Does “Messiah” Mean?

The Hebrew word translated “anointed” and “anointed one” is māshîaḥ,from which we derive our English word messiah. A priest or prophet (or both) used oil to anoint David and his descendants as kings, so they were called anointed ones, or messiahs. It’s one of several titles the kings held.

2. Why Were Jews Waiting for a Messiah?

The short answer is that when Jesus was born, the Jews were governed by foreign rulers, but the prophets had promised that one day they would have an anointed king (messiah) descended from David ruling over them again.

Here’s the longer answer.

The Davidic Covenant

The Lord made a covenant with King David that promised this:

The Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

2 Samuel 7:11–13

David and the kings descended from him were called messiahs

Although David had wanted to build God a house in the form of a temple, God promised to build David a house in the form of a dynasty—the house of David. Because David had shed so much blood in wars, he could not be the one to build a temple. Instead, an offspring would become king and build the house of the Lord. That offspring’s throne would last forever. These promises are called the Davidic Covenant.

After David died, his son Solomon built a temple. People thought that Solomon’s throne would last forever through a never-ending succession of sons. But that didn’t happen because eventually the kings and people forsook God for other gods.

The Bad News and the Good News

About 300 years after David, the prophet Isaiah prophesied that God would send the people into exile because of injustice and bloodshed (Isaiah 5:7).  But Isaiah also prophesied good news. First, a remnant would return from exile. Second, after the return, God would send a new king who would differ considerably from the flawed kings the Israelites had known:

For to us a child is born,
        to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
        and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
        Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
        there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
        to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
        from this time forth and forevermore.
Isaiah 9:6–7

So this king would sit on the throne of David and would reign forevermore!

What Isaiah and the other prophets warned about came to pass. About 400 years after David reigned, God exiled the people and temporarily halted David’s dynasty. When the exiles returned about 70 years later, they had no anointed king—no messiah—of their own yet. That’s why the Jews were awaiting a messiah, an anointed king.

The Messiah Comes

The angel tells Mary her baby will be the messiah
“The Annunciation” by John William Waterhouse, 1914 (U.S. public domain)

A thousand years after King David’s reign, the angel Gabriel greeted a young virgin named Mary who was a descendant of David’s:

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Luke 1:30–33

When the angel told Mary that Jesus would reign forever, he meant her baby would be the promised Messiah. Later, the prophet John the Baptist witnessed the Holy Spirit anoint Jesus for ministry, making him an Anointed One. Jesus reigns now in the heavenly places. One day, God will create the new heavens and earth where Jesus will reign forevermore as the King of kings (Revelation 19:16; 21:1; 22:3).

3. What New Testament Word Is Equivalent to “Messiah”?

Although most of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, most of the New Testament was written in Greek. The Greek word for “anointed one” is christos, from which we get our word Christ. So, Christ is the New Testament equivalent to Messiah.

Conclusion

People call Jesus “Messiah” (which means “Anointed One”) because that was one of the titles that the kings who were anointed to sit on David’s throne possessed. The people in Jesus’s day were waiting for a messiah because prophets prophesied that one day King David would have a descendant whose throne would last forever. The angel Gabriel said Jesus was that king. The New Testament calls him “Christ,” which is equivalent to Messiah.

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3 Feasts Jesus Didn’t Fulfill (and 4 He Did)

Who doesn’t love feasts? God gave the people feasts they could enjoy before him. Indeed, God commanded the Israelites to gather together at seven sacred assemblies every year involving feasts. Leviticus 23 describes them:

  1. Passover (verse 5)
  2. Feast of Unleavened Bread (6-8)
  3. Feast of First Fruits (9-14)
  4. Feast of Weeks (15-22)
  5. Feast of Trumpets (23-25)
  6. Day of Atonement (26-32)
  7. Feast of Booths (33-43)

The people gathered at the tabernacle (later, the temple). Not only did these festivals ensure that people remembered God’s mighty works, but they pointed to something significant about Jesus. In fact, Jesus fulfilled the first four on holy days!

What do I mean by “fulfilled”?

The apostle Paul wrote that the festivals “are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ” (Colossians 2:16-17). In other words, the feasts and what they commemorated foreshadowed some reality about Jesus. Thus, Jesus fulfilled the feasts when he completed that which they foreshadowed.

With that in mind, let’s look at the four holy days Jesus fulfilled and then consider the three he didn’t fulfill—and why.

The Four Feasts Jesus Fulfilled

The Jewish religious calendar begins in spring on Nisan 1, the month that the people escaped from Egypt (Exodus 12:1-2). That day is called Rosh Chadesh Nisan. Two weeks later come the year’s first three sacred assemblies, which overlap. In fact, they’re so closely related that they are often collectively referred to by the name of the first: Passover.

For Detail Lovers

The Jewish calendar is lunar, unlike the Gregorian calendar used by most of the world today. That causes Nisan 1 to fall on different dates in March or April each year. Most people think the Jewish new year is in the fall. That is because around the third century AD, many Jews started celebrating the new year in the fall (more on that later).

1) Passover: Pesach

Passover celebrated with lamb
Photo by Kat Jayne on Pexels.com

Nisan 14 (March 27, 2021 afternoon)

Passover celebrated God’s deliverance. For it, God commanded Israelite families to sacrifice a lamb each year on Nisan 14, without breaking any of its bones. This was the Passover sacrifice. That night, they ate the lamb with bitter herbs. This was the Passover feast.

The annual sacrifice and feast commemorated how the Destroyer passed over homes protected by lamb’s blood so the inhabitants would not die and could instead begin the journey to the promised land.

For Detail Lovers

Here’s what happened. The Lord sent Moses to Pharaoh with a message: Let my people go! This was because the Egyptians had enslaved the Israelites. Nine times Pharaoh refused, and nine times the Lord brought plagues as a sign that he was more powerful than Pharaoh’s gods.

Then the Lord announced the tenth plague: The Destroyer would come that night and kill the Egyptian firstborn males. But he commanded the Hebrews to sacrifice a lamb and paint its blood on the top and sides of the doorframe. When the Destroyer came, he would pass over homes protected with lamb’s blood.

According to Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld, since the temple’s destruction in AD 70, no Passover lambs have been sacrificed. He says that Jews today consider Nisan 14 a minor holiday and refer to Nisan 15 to 21 as Passover.

Jesus’s Feasts Fulfillment

On Thursday, Jesus ate the Passover Feast with his disciples. The Jewish leaders arrested him that night and Rome crucified him the next day. Soldiers did not break his legs when they broke the legs of those crucified with him so “that the Scripture” regarding the Passover lamb “might be fulfilled” (John 19:33,36).

The New Testament declares, “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Just as Passover commemorated God delivering his people from slavery to Egypt so they could journey to the earthly promised land, so Jesus’s sacrifice delivers God’s people from slavery to sin so that they can journey to the heavenly promised land. Just as the first Passover lambs’ blood protected from death, so Jesus’s blood protects from the second death (hell), granting eternal life.

The Last Supper celebrates the Passover and Unleavened Bread Feasts
“The Last Supper” by Giampietrino (public domain)
For Detail Lovers

Because Jewish days began at sunset, Jesus was crucified on the same religious calendar day as the feast, Nisan 15. Thus, when he gave his disciples bread and wine at the Passover feast and said, “This is my body” and “This is my blood of the covenant,” he linked the Passover feast to his sacrifice (Matthew 26:26,28).

2) The Feast of Unleavened Bread: Chag HaMatzot

Nisan 15-21 (sunset March 27 to sunset April 3 or 4, 2021)

The Feast of Unleavened Bread celebrated God’s continued deliverance with a week of feasts. Each year before the feasts began, Jewish families completely emptied their homes of leaven (Exodus 12:19). Then for seven days, they ate nothing with yeast. They also made daily food offerings. On the first and last days of the week, they held sacred assemblies at the temple and did no work.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread recalled that the Hebrews fled from Egypt quickly on Nisan 15, without time to let bread rise. Leaven often symbolized corruption and could not be used on the altar.

Jesus’s Feasts Fulfillment

Just as the festival’s bread was without yeast, so Jesus was without corruption. Just as Jewish families purged yeast from their houses, so today followers of Christ purge sin from their lives:

Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1 Corinthians 5:8

3) Feast of Firstfruits

Sadducees: Sunday after Sabbath after Passover (April 4, 2021); Pharisees: Nisan 16 (March 29, 2021)

Resurrection on Firstfruits during Unleavened Bread Feasts
“The Angel and Women at the Empty Tomb” by Gustave Doré (public domain)

The Feast of Firstfruits celebrated the first of the grain harvest. This was because the first sheaf of barley was a sign that God was about to bless his people with more. So Jews brought a sheaf of barley to the temple to wave before the Lord and give thanks for the harvest to come. They could not eat any barley until they performed this ritual.

The Hebrews began celebrating this holy day after they arrived in the promised land. Thus, it reminded families that their harvests were God’s gift and there was more to come.

Jesus’s Feasts Fulfillment

Jesus rose from the dead on the Feast of Firstfruits. His resurrection promises that he will resurrect those belonging to him when it is time to enter the new promised land. Just as the first sheaf of barley anticipated a greater harvest of barley, so Jesus’s resurrection anticipates a greater harvest of souls.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep… For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:20–23
For Detail Lovers

The Sadducees celebrated the Feast of Firstfruits on the day that followed the Sabbath that followed Passover (always a Sunday). The Pharisees celebrated Firstfruits on the second day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 16). According to Harold W. Hoehner in Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, Nisan 16 fell on the Sunday following the Sabbath that followed Passover in both AD 30 and AD 33. These are the two years most scholars place the crucifixion.

Loaves of bread for feasts
Loaves of bread, courtesy of Adobe Stock

4) Feast of Weeks (Pentecost): Shavuot

7 weeks after Firstfruits (Sadducees, May 23, 2021; Pharisees, May 17, 2021)

The Feast of Weeks celebrated the end of the wheat harvest. It was also called Pentecost because it came 50 days after the Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Then on this day, worshipers presented two loaves of wheat bread made with leaven to the Lord.

For Detail Lovers

In preparation for the festival, people made provision for the poor. In time, the celebration also commemorated the giving of the law at Sinai not long after the Israelites escaped Egypt. If Jesus was crucified in AD 30 or 33 as most scholars think, the Sadducees and Pharisees celebrated Pentecost on the same day the year of the crucifixion.

Jesus’s Feasts Fulfillment

On this sacred day, Jesus baptized his followers with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4). Just as the wheat harvest had produced loaves of bread, so the resurrection produced the church. Just as the loaves contained leaven, so the church contains imperfect people.

"The Holiday Series: Rosh Hashanah" by Arthur Szyk on Jewish Feasts
“The Holiday Series: Rosh Hashana” by Arthur Szyk, courtesy of The Arthur Szyk Society (www.szyk.org)

The Three Feasts Jesus Has Not Fulfilled

The seventh month of the year held three more celebrations, and their final fulfillments are yet to come. For Jesus said, “I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3).

5) Feast of Trumpets: Rosh HaShanah

Tishri 1 (sunset September 6 to sunset September 7, 2021)

The Feast of Trumpets celebrates God’s providence. Trumpets call people to gather before God in rest from all harvests, including grapes and citrus. Priests blew trumpets from morning to night. This feast began a time of spiritual renewal.

For Detail Lovers

Today, the celebration extends over two days and includes a celebration of the civil new year. This change may have happened around the third century AD. Exodus 12:1-2 commands that the Jewish year begin on Nisan 1, so that remains the new year on the Hebrew religious calendar.

Jesus’s Future Feasts Fulfillment

Just as the trumpet sounded to call people to the temple after all harvests were complete, so when the earthly harvest of souls is complete, another trumpet will sound to call for the ingathering of souls:

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
The Day of Atonement required two goats
Photo by Couleur on Pexels.com

6) Day of Atonement: Yom Kippur

Tishri 10 (September 16)

The Feast of Trumpets was followed by the Hebrews’ holiest day of the year, the Day of Atonement. This was not a feast, but prepared the people spiritually for the feasts to come.

On this day, the people prepared themselves by ceasing all work, fasting, denying themselves comforts, and confessing and repenting from sins. Meanwhile, the high priest presented sacrifices to cleanse the people and all the holy things from the year’s accumulated defilement of sin. He also took two goats and sacrificed one to make atonement for sin. Then he laid his hands on the head of the other, confessed the people’s sins, and sent the goat into the wilderness as a sign that their sins had been carried away.

Jesus’s Future Feasts Fulfillment

In Jesus’s first coming, he atoned for sin on the cross, completing the work of the first goat. But the Judgment follows his second coming, after which he will remove all sin and causes of sin, fulfilling what the second goat pointed to (Matthew 13:41; Revelation 20:10-15). What the Day of Atonement pointed to will be fully and finally complete.

7) Feast of Booths: Sukkot

Tishri 15-22 (September 21-28, 2021)

The Feast of Booths celebrates the journey to and arrival in the promised land. It was the final festival of the year and provided another week of feasts. The people brought fruit and tree branches to rejoice before the Lord. For seven days, they dwelt in temporary booths constructed from branches. This commemorated the Lord’s good care as the Hebrews journeyed through the desert. Then on the eighth day, they entered homes, commemorating arrival in the promised land.

"Examining the Lulav" by Leopold Pilichowski for the Feast of Booths
“Examining the Lulav” by Leopold Pilichowski (public domain) shows tree branches and citron fruit used in the Feast of Booths
For Detail Lovers

By Jesus’s day, water and light ceremonies took place during the Feast of Booths (John 7-8). People bound together a palm frond, myrtle, and willow (called a lulav) to carry with citron fruit in a procession during the water ceremony.

Jesus’s Future Feasts Fulfillment

Just as the Hebrews lived in temporary booths until they reached the earthly promised land, so our souls dwell in temporary shelters—our earthly bodies—while we journey to the new promised land. When Jesus returns, he will raise our bodies into glorious, imperishable bodies. We will bring to him the fruit his Holy Spirit has grown in our lives.

For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

1 Corinthians 15:52–53

Another feast awaits: the wedding feast of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7-9). The Lord God will bring us to the new heavens and earth. There he and Christ, our Passover Lamb, will dwell in our midst forever (Revelation 21:1-3). There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. Our journey ends. We will arrive.

3 Feasts Jesus Didn't Fulfill (and 4 He Did) Share on X

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“The Virgin Shall Conceive”: Why Isaiah 7:14 Confuses People

For many years, the prophecy that confused me most was Isaiah 7:14: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Every Christmas I heard pastors quote this, but none had ever explained its context. What confused me was that the next three verses say that the prophecy will be fulfilled within 14 years. If it was supposed to be fulfilled in the eighth century BC, how could it apply to Jesus?

Let’s go ahead and clear that up.

What Triggered “The Virgin Shall Conceive” Prophecy

First, here’s what brought on this prophecy.

King Ahaz’s dad had died, leaving him the sole king of Judah at age 20. Judah was a small kingdom south of Israel and Syria. Farther north and east, the kingdom of Assyria was growing rapidly by conquering one kingdom state after another. The kings of Israel and Syria knew they couldn’t stop the powerful Assyria alone, so they wanted to form a coalition along with Judah. But Ahaz refused to join them.

Ahaz’s refusal angered the kings of Israel and Syria, so they attacked. Unfortunately, Ahaz was not a godly king, and so the Lord allowed the two kings some victories. When Ahaz still wouldn’t join, the two kings decided to depose Ahaz and replace him with a puppet king who would do their bidding.

Assyrian conquests prompted the prophecy, "the virgin shall conceive"
Assyrian relief depicting conquests from the British Museum, photograph by Jean E. Jones

The Lord’s Offer

The Lord God sent Isaiah with a message for this young, frightened king. He told Ahaz not to fear the two kings because they would not take the throne from him (Isaiah 7:3-7). Instead, Israel would cease to exist within 65 years (verse 8). He cautions Ahaz, “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all” (verse 9). Then he makes this incredible offer:

Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.

Isaiah 7:11

In other words, God tells the scared ruler to ask any sign he wants as proof that the Lord will be with him and will not allow his two enemies to remove him from the throne. He can request a miraculous sign that is as deep as hell or as high as heaven.

What did Ahaz do? He refused God’s offer! He told Isaiah, “I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test” (Isaiah 7:12). Why? Because he had already decided what he wanted to do and it didn’t involve submitting to or trusting the King of kings.

The Promise That the Virgin Shall Conceive

Isaiah was not fooled by Ahaz’s fake piety. If Ahaz would not request a sign, God would give him a sign nonetheless. Isaiah replied,

Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted.

Isaiah 7:13-16

Isaiah no longer calls God “your God,” but rather “my God,” for Ahaz has rejected God as his King of kings.

“Virgin,” “Immanuel,” Curds, and the Child’s Age

According to John N. Oswalt in The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 1–9, the Hebrew word translated virgin means “young woman of marriageable age.” Jews would assume she was a virgin, of course, so the Hebrew word can be translated either “maiden” or “virgin.” There’s another Hebrew word that can only be translated “virgin,” but that’s not what Isaiah uses here. We’ll come back to why later. For now, note that the prophecy in its immediate context refers to a young woman who is a virgin at the time of the prophecy. She’ll marry, conceive, and bear a child. The woman is not named, but it is not the mother of the crown prince Hezekiah, for he was born before Ahaz rose to sole king.

The name Immanuel means “God with us.” Therefore, the child would be a sign that God was with Judah even though the king was abandoning God. God’s presence is a comfort for the godly, but terror for the ungodly.

Curds (a milk product like ricotta cheese) and honey were wealthy fare. Yet, when the child knows right and wrong (age 12-13), he will eat curds and honey and both Israel and Syria will be deserted.

Ahaz Openly Rejects God

Ahaz sent messengers to the king of Assyria, saying “I am your servant and your son” (2 Kings 16:7). These are titles that show Ahaz has rejected his covenant duty to serve under God alone and has put Assyria’s fearsome king in God’s place.

Here’s what this means. A king who rules over other kings is called a suzerain, and the kings serving him are called vassals. In those days, the suzerain protected his vassals in exchange for money, soldiers, and submission. The suzerain called his vassals “sons,” and the vassals called their suzerain “father.” So when Ahaz said to Assyria’s king, “I am your servant and your son,” he was offering to be his vassal.

In other words, Assyria didn’t have wait to conquer Judah—Ahaz sought him and surrendered before Assyria came near. Ahaz did this so that this king of kings would rescue him from Israel and Syria.

The trouble was that in Judah, the kings were supposed to have the Lord God as Suzerain. Ahaz had switched teams. And he used the temple treasures which belonged to the Lord God as tribute to his new lord.

But Isaiah isn’t done with prophecies about a child. He recorded more in the next two chapters.

Prophecies about Isaiah’s Child

Here’s what introduces the next set of child prophecies:

And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son.

Isaiah 8:3

The Hebrew translated “went to” is a euphemism in the Old Testament that usually means the first time that a husband and wife come together for marital relationships. Because of this, some scholars think that Isaiah’s first wife may have passed away and he married a prophetess who bore him another child. Thus, Isaiah 7:14 might refer to this child.

Immanuel’s Land

Isaiah 8:4 prophesies that before Isaiah’s newborn reaches three, the two kings won’t threaten Ahaz anymore. Assyria would demolish Syria and subdue Israel. But Ahaz’s trust in Assyria instead of God would cost him dearly because Assyria wasn’t trustworthy. Assyria would sweep into Judah and wreak havoc in “your land, O Immanuel” (Isaiah 8:8).

By calling Judah “Immanuel’s land,” Isaiah links this prophecy about his son to the previous chapter’s prophecy about a child called Immanuel, God With Us. Now we have two prophecies about a child being born as a sign that God is with Judah. They’re also linked by the name Immanuel.

Isaiah then says this about his own children:

Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.

Isaiah 8:18

Isaiah’s newborn is a sign of what’s to come within three years. But he and his children are not just signs; they portend (or foreshadow) future events. We’ll come back to this too.

For to Us a Child Is Born

Isaiah has another child prophecy in the ninth chapter:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 9:6-7
Virgin Shall Conceive: "The Adoration of the Shepherds by Murillo
The Adoration of the Shepherds, by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo – Museo Nacional del Prado (Public Domain)

Unlike the prophecies in the previous chapters, this prophecy of a child is about no ordinary child. It was obviously a prophecy about a future child, not a child in Isaiah’s day. This child would bring the righteousness that Ahaz abandoned, and he would rule forever.

The Initial Fulfillment of “The Virgin Shall Conceive”

So what happened next? Assyria attacked both Syria and Israel, just as Ahaz had requested. Within three years of Isaiah’s son’s birth, the two kings that threatened Ahaz were dead. A decade after Ahaz refused God’s offer, Assyria demolished Israel.

But the king of Assyria was untrustworthy and swept into Judah too, killing many. So many died that the remnant left could not use all the milk. They turned the milk into curds, and everyone ate curds and honey. So the child prophecies of Isaiah 7 and 8 were fulfilled in Isaiah’s day, but not the child prophecy of Isaiah 9.

Now that we have seen Isaiah 7:14 in its original context, let’s look at how the Gospels use it.

The Later Fulfillment of “The Virgin Shall Conceive”

By the time of Christ, most Jews were using the Greek version of the Old Testament called the Septuagint. The Septuagint translated “virgin” in Isaiah 7:14 with a Greek word that meant virgin, not a young woman of marriageable age.

Matthew 1:18 records that Mary “was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.” An angel confirmed this to her fiancé Joseph (verse 20). Matthew explained all this and wrote,

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

Matthew 1:23

Matthew knew that Isaiah 7:14 was fulfilled in Isaiah’s day, so why did he write this? Because he also understood how OT portents work. The Bible uses a number of words for portents, including type, shadow, foreshadow, figure, and picture.

Most people today are less familiar with portents, so I’ll explain with a story.

A Potato Portent

A potato illustrates forshadowing
Adobe Stock, used by permission

Sometimes my husband calls me from the grocery store saying, “I found great looking salmon. Would you like some for dinner tonight?” I’ll reply, “Yes! Don’t forget to buy a potato.”

That night, I’ll sauté half the fish while Clay slices and boils the potato. I serve most of the fish and refrigerate the leftovers and the potato. The next night, I sauté the rest of the fish and refrigerate the leftovers.

Are you wondering about the cold, uneaten potato? Its presence foreshadows that something more will happen with the fish. And more will happen. On the third night, I’ll beat an egg, mash the potato into it, and stir in minced chives, salt, and pepper. Next, I’ll break up the leftover fish and fold it into the egg and potato mixture. Finally, I’ll form the mixture into fish cakes that I’ll sauté in butter and oil until they are browned and crispy and oh-so delicious.

Just as I made obvious links between the potato and fish before I told you how they were related, so Isaiah placed obvious links between the child prophecies in chapters 7, 8, and 9 without fully telling us how they were related. He linked the birth of a child, the name Immanuel, and the land of Judah. He also contrasted the current king’s wickedness with the future king’s righteousness, and Assyria’s king’s ruthlessness with Immanuel’s justice.

Just as the unused potato foreshadowed that something more was coming, so the unfulfilled chapter 9 prophecy foreshadowed that something more was coming as well.

Prophecies and Portents

As I noted above, Matthew knew that Isaiah 7:14 was fulfilled in Isaiah’s day. But he also knew that Isaiah 9:6-7 had not been fulfilled prior to Jesus’s coming. Jesus alone fulfilled it. And he was familiar with Mary’s story of Jesus’s miraculous birth to her as a virgin.

As Matthew read the passages—especially in the Septuagint—he realized that Isaiah 7:14’s prophecy that the “virgin shall conceive” was no coincidence. There was more going on than what was fulfilled in Isaiah’s day.

He realized that Isaiah 7:14 is a direct prophecy that was fulfilled in Isaiah’s day, but its fulfillment portended a future event. In other words, the woman and child in Isaiah’s day foreshadowed Mary and her son Jesus. The woman in Isaiah’s day was a virgin at the time of the prophecy, but Mary was a virgin at the time of conception. The child in Isaiah’s day was called Immanuel, or God With Us, as a sign that God was still with Judah. But that child foreshadowed Jesus, who was literally God with us.

And that is why Isaiah used an ambiguous Hebrew word for virgin. The first meaning was meant for the initial fulfillment, but the second for the ultimate fulfillment.

Fulfilled Prophecy as Portents

Here’s another analogy for understanding prophecies that have fulfillments that foreshadow a significant future event.

I live in sunny Southern California where it doesn’t snow. Most of the year, we see what looks like one brown mountain range to the north. But sometimes in the winter, we’ll see a massive, snow-covered mountain range in the distance and a smaller brown mountain range closer to us (see the photo).

Near and future fulfillment of "the virgin shall conceive" illustrated by 2 mountain ranges
Photo by Virginia Thompson

The nearer mountain range leads our eyes up to the mountain range that is farther off and obviously much bigger. In the same way, some prophecies have a nearer fulfillment that points to and leads our eyes to a greater, future fulfillment. The nearer fulfillment foreshadows the coming fulfillment.

Deep as Sheol or High as Heaven

Let’s look back at the Lord God’s generous offer to King Ahaz:

Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.

Isaiah 7:11

Consider that the immediate fulfillment in Isaiah’s day wasn’t a sign that was as deep as Sheol (hell) or as high as heaven.

But the typological fulfillment in Jesus’s day certainly was.

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Understanding Hebrew Poetry

For years, Hebrew poetry mystified me. When I was about to read the Book of Psalms for the first time at age 17, I was excited. So many people had told me that Psalms was their favorite book of the Bible, and I couldn’t wait to experience what they had experienced.

But I was disappointed.

Why? Because I thought they were repetitive, and none followed the standard flow of an essay: Introduction, three to five points, conclusion. Instead, the middles and ends often repeated the beginning. As a result, I could not make sense of many of them.

That is, until years later when I finally learned how to interpret Hebrew poetry. Then the structure—which relied on repetition—made sense.

\Not only could I now interpret the psalms, but I also could finally pray them the way they were meant to be prayed. Here’s what I needed to know.

Psalm 1:1
Psalm 1:1

Psalms Are Poems

One reason that psalms don’t follow an essay’s structure is that they aren’t essays. Indeed, they’re poems.

Hebrew poets penned the praises and prayers they worshiped God with as psalms. Psalms are poems meant to be sung, so the poets at times gave their psalms to the temple choirmasters. The choirmasters then gathered the psalms into collections. What we know today as the book of Psalms is a collection of those collections.

So how does Hebrew poetry work? Let’s take a look.

Hebrew Poetry Uses Parallelism in Poetic Lines

It’s much easier to understand psalms if we know a little about Hebrew poetry. A Hebrew poem’s basic unit is a poetic line. Most lines have two segments, although some have three or four and a few have only one. In some Bible translations, the first segment starts at the left margin and the rest of the segments are indented to show their relationships (see the pictures above and below of Psalm 1).

Unfortunately, verse numbers and text note references often obscure the indentions, and there isn’t room to show more than one level of indention (what looks like a third level is actually the prior segment wrapping to the next line because of lack of space). That’s why in these pictures of Psalm 1 in this post, I’ve omitted the verse numbers.

Most line segments in Hebrew poetry use parallelism. They say something similar in multiple ways, giving us different ways to grasp the poet’s meaning. The best part about parallelism is that it translates well, so we don’t have to know Hebrew to enjoy it. God was planning ahead when he helped the Hebrews develop their poetry!

Here are the parallel elements of Psalm 1:1 aligned in columns:

Unit AUnit BUnit CUnit D
Line Segment 1Blessed is the man   
Line Segment 2 who walks notin the counselof the wicked
Line Segment 3 nor standsin the wayof sinners
Line Segment 4 nor sitsin the seatof scoffers
Psalm 1:1

When you find parallelism, compare the parallel elements to see how they relate. In this case, they intensify.

Illustrating the Relationships Between Poetic Lines

We can symbolize parallelism by using capital letters to represent units and a prime mark (‘) to show how many times a unit repeats. Here’s a diagram of verse 1 with a slash(/) representing a new line segment:

Psalm 1:2-3
Psalm 1:2-3

            A / B  C  D / B’ C’ D’ / B” C” D”

This structure is called incomplete parallelism because unit A doesn’t repeat.

Psalm 1:5 has normal parallelism. Here, I’ve underlined the first unit of each segment and italicized the second:

            Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment
                        nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous

Here’s a diagram of verse 5:

            A B / A’ B’

Another common parallel structure is found in verse 2. I’ve underlined one pair of matching segments and italicized the other pair.

            But his delight is in the law of the LORD
                        and on his law he meditates day and night.

If you were to draw lines between the matching segments, they would form an X. Like verses 1 and 5, verse 2 uses parallelism, but this time the parallel elements are placed in a pattern called chiasm (KEY-asm; chi is the Greek name for the letter X). We illustrate verse 2’s chiastic parallelism like this:

            A B / B’ A’

By comparing the parallel elements, we see that delight in God’s instructions is shown through meditating on those instructions. In the Bible, the word meditate means thinking about and saying softly.

Hebrew Poetry Uses Parallelism in Stanzas

In poetry, a stanza is a group of related poetic lines. It’s similar to a paragraph, which in prose is a group of related sentences. Some modern Bible translations break the psalms into stanzas to make them easier to read. In fact, the Bible in which I first read Psalms grouped poetic lines in stanzas. But that only made me wonder why they didn’t flow like an essay’s paragraphs:

           Introduction, Point I, Point II, Point III, Conclusion

Psalm 1:4-5
Psalm 1:4-5

And that’s not what they did.

For example, look at Psalm 1. Psalm 1’s first stanza (verses 1-3) describes the righteous, the second (verses 4-5) describes the wicked, and the last (verse 6) draws a conclusion. So far, so good.

But here’s where Hebrew poetry differs. The psalmists often linked the first and last stanzas, the first and middle stanzas, and/or the middle and last stanzas. For instance, Psalm 1 links the first and last stanza with a description of the way of the wicked, inviting us to compare the two. Here is its diagram, using letters to represent stanzas:

            A B A’

This is another chiasm, this time using stanzas instead of line segments. In fact, psalmists often arranged stanzas in a chiasm.

Another Example: Psalm 71

Psalm 71 has seven stanzas. The psalm’s theme is in the middle stanza (verse 14). All the stanzas equal distance from the middle link. Here’s the structure, again using letters to represent stanzas:

            A B C D C B’ A’

This structure invites us to compare the linked stanzas. When we do, we see that the troubles identified in the first half of the psalm are resolved in the linked stanzas in the second half.

This is a beautifully structured poem! No, it doesn’t follow the rules of Western essays. Instead, it does something better, providing us multiple connections and layers of meaning.

But that’s not all.

Hebrew Poetry Uses Parallelism in Psalm Collections

The Psalter contains five major collections called books. Each of the books contains multiple collections. These collections have links too.

For instance, Psalms 1 and 2 are the Psalter’s introduction. Psalm 1 portrays the ideal man and Psalm 2 the ideal king. The first line of Psalm 1 links to the last line of Psalm 2:

Psalm 1:6
Psalm 1:6

Psalm 1:1

            Blessed is the man
                        who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
                        nor stands in the way of sinners,
                        nor sits in the seat of scoffers

Psalm 2:12d

            Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Him here is the King God has set on Zion, the Son of God.

Conclusion

Understanding Hebrew Poetry enables us to immerse ourselves in the psalms so they can enliven our prayers and transform us.

Adapted from Discovering Hope in the Psalms.

Join me in a new online Bible study on Discovering Hope in the Psalms.

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How to Safely Meet

Fall Bible studies would normally start this month, but many areas are still under quarantine. So I asked readers what they’re doing to safely meet, and received back some innovative ideas! Thankfully, some report that quarantines have lifted in their areas and they are back to meeting, though with adjustments. That’s good news since God created us for fellowship.

But that’s not the case for all, so I’m making changes to how I post the videos—see the announcements at the end.

As you consider your upcoming Bible studies, here are ideas to safely meet, beginning with tips for meeting online.

Safely Meet Online

Safely meet via Zoom
Barbara Brittain Elliott’s group

Many groups turned to online meetings using tools such as Zoom. In fact, several readers reported that Zoom meetings allowed out-of-town relatives and friends to join their local studies.

Lori C. began leading her group via Zoom in March. She writes, “We all repeatedly commented on the absolute perfect timing of that study [Discovering Joy in Philippians]. Great reminders that we don’t have it so bad as Paul, even though we may feel like we’re in a prison of sorts!” The photo is of Barbara Brittain Elliott’s Zoom meeting; she writes, “Here’s our group from New Braunfels, TX, meeting on Zoom and showing off our coloring!”

Marie T. also turned to Zoom, taking advantage of that platform to invite me to join with her group one week and answer questions. What a blessing for me!

Here are some tips I’ve learned about Zoom in the last few months.

Zoom Tips

Safely meet Pam Farrel
Pam Farrel teaches online
  • Take time to practice one-on-one with those who are less technically savvy
  • To limit audio feedback, ask everyone to wear headphones or earbuds
  • Never post the Zoom link on social media lest people who want to disrupt join
  • In your weekly reminder email, include the Zoom link (and the link to the video if you’re using it)
  • Email the Zoom and video links again fifteen minutes before the meeting so no one is late because they’re searching for a lost email
  • If you’re using the videos, either (a) ask everyone to watch the video ahead of time;  or (b after your Zoom meeting starts, ask everyone to switch over to the video and return to Zoom when they’ve finished
  • If you’re using the free version of Zoom, your meeting will be limited to 40 minutes, but everyone can rejoin for a second meeting, apparently using the same link

Safely Meet Outside in Socially Distanced Groups of 10

Whether it’s meeting in the church parking lot, a community park, or a large yard, some readers have found innovative ways to keep six feet apart so they can safely meet.

Lynne A. meets in a neighborhood park near her church, safely distanced. Lynne says they hope to draw attention to Jesus in the neighborhood.

Melissa T. has everyone bring their own beach chair and drinks to meet on her large driveway. Moshelle C.’s group enters a backyard through a side gate. They use the chairs the hostess sets out.

Inge S. limits her study to ten women, which is what her state allows. She says, “I felt since many would not be traveling as usual, and I am one of those that do best with regular meetings and accountability, it would be helpful to have something.” Her group meets in the church parking lot when the weather’s good. She kindly offered these tips.

Inge’s Tips

  • In her weekly email, Inge reminds everyone to wear a mask and to speak more loudly than they would indoors
  • Inge brings extra masks, a box of tissues, gloves, measuring tape, and disinfecting wipes
  • They place the chairs in a circle six feet apart
  • The women wear masks until everyone is seated; then most remove them
  • They lift their heads in prayer so everyone can hear and agree in prayer
  • After the meeting, they wipe down the chairs, door handles, and surfaces anyone has touched

Safely Meet Indoor in Socially Distanced Groups

Safely meet pre-quarantine
2019 meetings were different.
We skipped my annual lunch with Biola women in 2020.

No, the photograph is not from this year. I had to forego my annual luncheon with women in the Biola apologetics program this year because Biola canceled onsite classes. But here are ways others made meetings work.

Both Catherine K. and Marie T. have found rooms large enough for their groups to meet sitting six feet apart. Marie has continued a Zoom group for those who aren’t ready to meet in person yet. My own church is hoping to switch from Zoom to setting up circles of groups in the sanctuary.

Brenda M. teaches math and Bible to a homeschool group of high school boys and girls. She uses our studies for the Bible portion! She’s able to meet in a place where desks can be six feet apart.

Conclusion

There you have it: Tips to safely meet. Please tell us how you’re safely meeting in the comments!

Announcements

Since many groups cannot yet meet in person, I’m in the process of making all my videos available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRyshinDpD3kIv5y_tdxUtg. No passwords are needed. Feel free to forward this link those in your studies.

I plan to re-record some of the Discovering Joy in Philippians videos now that I know a little more about how to do it.  (I thank God for all the people who have given me much needed advice!) And I plan to start recording videos for Discovering Hope in the Psalms in just a few weeks, posting them every two weeks. I’ll let you know when they’re ready.

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Bible Studies to Consider

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Online Bible Study: Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament

When times are crazy, it helps to remember God’s faithfulness to fulfill his promises about Jesus’s first coming. That’s because it assures us he’ll fulfill his promises about Jesus’s second coming. Join me in a new online Bible study of Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament! Your faith will soar as you discover how the Old Testament unfolds God’s incredible plan. And your hope will rise as you grasp his promises for you when Jesus returns.

This 13-session study begins June 22. Subscribers can watch my weekly teaching videos for free. All you need is a copy of the Bible study book to follow along with the discussion and the subscriber password from my last newsletter. (Not subscribing yet? Get the password when you register).

online study Moses
Learn what Moses said about Jesus

Benefits

These are the benefits you can expect from this OT online Bible study:

  • Grow in faith as you see God’s eternal plan unfold.
  • Know God’s incredible, unchanging love for you.
  • Understand your place in the Bible’s big story.
  • Increase your joy as you learn and rejoice in the future awaiting you.

Here’s what one reader said of Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament:

Amazing and mind-blowing and helped us all grow in our faith and our relationship with God.

Reader DeAnn Dinelli

How This Online Bible Study Will Work

Starting Monday, June 22, I’ll post weekly videos and discussion questions so you can interact with me and others learning from the study. When the video is up, I’ll email a link to it to those who have registered.

Each week:

  • Watch the video.
  • Answer the online questions.
  • Complete a chapter in the study book.

That’s it!

FAQS

What if that’s not a good date?

No worries! Begin any time from June 22 on. I’ll check in regularly.

What if I can’t complete a chapter in a week?

Go at your own pace!

Is there a fee?

The videos are free to my newsletter subscribers—you just need your subscriber specials password.

How do I get the password?

Jesus in the OT

Newsletter subscribers: The password is in my latest newsletter. Not a subscriber? When you register, you’ll subscribe automatically and receive a confirmation email with the password.

Does the password unlock anything else?

Yes! There are timelines to go with the study and other materials here: Free Resources

How to Join This Online Bible Study

Here’s what to do:

  1. Register here: Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament Online
  2. Buy a copy of the book: Amazon

I’ll email registrants a link to the videos when I post them.

For bulk purchases and other buying options, go to the registration page: Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament Online. The Amazon link above is an affiliate link for which I receive a small commission.

More Details

online study prophets
Discover what the prophets said about Jesus

Your faith will grow as you journey in discovering all God has planned since before the foundation of the earth. You’ll see how God enfolded his plan, what Jesus fulfilled in his first coming, and what he has for you in his second coming.

You’ll never tire of studying Scripture with this fresh and engaging Bible study encounter. Through persuasive instruction and inspiring devotions, it reveals God’s redemptive plan from the beginning of creation. Explore…

  • timeline icons to help you track God’s plan through the Old Testament
  • key questions at the beginning of each section to guide your focus
  • opportunities for creative expression, including full-page graphics and bookmarks to color
  • sidebars that offer fascinating historical insights
  • practical application questions to guide and deepen your walk with Christ
  • online opportunities for connection and interactive community

As you discover new ways to engage with God’s Word through this in-depth approach to studying Scripture, you will gain wisdom and understanding about his incredible, unchanging love for you.

Join Now!

Register here: Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament Online

Online Bible study begins June 22 on "Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament"! Taught by Jean E. Jones…register now! Share on X

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We Will Not Fear

“We will not fear,” the Psalms tell us. Yet these are difficult times. My girlfriend just texted me for prayer—her sister has surgery today for breast cancer, but their widowed mother can’t visit because she’s at high risk for coronavirus. My brother-in-law has an inoperable brain tumor, and out-of-state family can no longer visit. At the same time, his ability to use technology is fading. Additionally, my husband is losing his job for reasons unrelated to COVID-19, but so are millions of others due to shelter-in-place mandates.

So what is our hope during a worldwide crisis? How do we not fear?

Psalm 46 tells us.

We Will Not Fear

God is our refuge and strength
        an ever-present help in trouble
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
        and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
        and the mountains quake with their surging.
(Psalm 46:1-3)

Nestled in the first three verses are reasons to reject fear even when the earth gives way to a virus’s ravages.

We Will Not Fear Because God Is Our Refuge

We can go to our heavenly Father whenever danger nears. The psalms often describe God as a rock of refuge—a mountainous rock covered in caves and clefts that conceal us from risk. While we take refuge in homes from COVID-19, let us also take refuge in our God.

We will not fear. Image of Meteora, Greece by Stathis floros / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
Meteora rock formations in Greece. By Stathis floros / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

We Will Not Fear Because God Is Our Strength

The apostle Paul says God’s “power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). For when we’re weak but rely on God, then we are strong. He knows our days and he’s counted the hairs on our heads.

We Will Not Fear Because God Is an Ever-Present Help in Trouble

His presence is with us. His Holy Spirit is in us. He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

Because God is our refuge, our strength, and our ever-present help, we can choose to not fear.

We Will Not Fear Because the City of God Awaits

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
        the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
        God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
        he utters his voice, the earth melts.
(Psalm 46:4-6)

Earth’s Jerusalem is often called the city of God. But that Jerusalem has no river. What city of God does this speak of then?

This holy habitation is the heavenly Jerusalem of which the earthly city was but a type: “You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem… and to Jesus” (Hebrews 12:22,24). In the new heavens and earth, the river of life flows from the throne of God through the city’s center (Revelation 22:1-2). And the tree of life grows on its banks.

We Will Not Fear Because God Appoints Our Time

Humans lost access to the tree of life at the fall, leaving death to reign. But Jesus died and rose again to open the way to eternal life for all who believe in him.

We will not fear. Tower of Refuge image by Gregory J. Kingsley.
Tower of Refuge on St. Mary’s Isle by Gregory J. Kingsley (licensed under Creative Commons Share Alike https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

Each of us has an appointed time to die (Hebrews 9:27). Indeed, doctors have told some of us that our day is near. The rest of us await such notice with eyes averted in the hope that it’s still far off. But the new virus’s spread reminds us that our time comes, perhaps even soon.

But coronavirus can’t change our assigned time to die. Either it’s our moment or it’s not. Does that mean we should act foolishly? Of course not! Rather, reckless behavior merely suggests that our preset time may be close.

Yet death is not our end. It is our new beginning.

We Will Not Fear Because We Know Our Future

Here on earth, nations rage and kingdoms totter. The cursed earth spews pestilence and plague. The sea roars in devastating power. But a day comes when God “utters his voice” and “the earth melts” (Psalm 46:6). “The heavens will be set on fire and dissolved” (2 Peter 3:12).

But that is not cause for despair, for “we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13). We are coming to the holy city of God that “shall not be moved” within which flows “a river whose streams make glad the city of God” (Psalm 46:4,5). There those who belong to the Lamb will see God’s face and dwell with him forever more.

That is why we must heed these words: “set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2). Yes, we have an appointed time to die—but death for the Christian merely means moving into the presence of God.

We Will Not Fear Because the Lord Is with Us

The LORD of hosts is with us;
        the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
(Psalm 46:7,11)

Psalm 46’s refrain says the One who commands angelic armies is with us. Not only that, but he is our fortress. Picture tall towers and walls too high to scale. Hosts of angels and an impenetrable fortress convey this message: We are safe. And indeed we are, for “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4).

Imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. Selah. Pause and ponder.

We Will Be Still and Know that God Is God

Come, behold the works of the LORD,
        how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
        he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
        he burns the chariots with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
        I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
(Psalm 46:8-10)

Remembering that the LORD of hosts is with us and that he is our fortress encourages us to turn our eyes to grander things. Yes, God cursed the earth bringing desolation. But he is also ushering us into this age’s finish when he will end all wars and judge all people. Then he will bring those who belong to him to the new heavens and earth where death is no more.

God himself says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” When fear assails us, this is what we do. We turn to him, still ourselves, and repeat these words from him. We can do it because God has told us the end of our story. We will be with him, and he will be exalted. He is God.

We Will Remember the Lord Is with Us

The LORD of hosts is with us;
        the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
(Psalm 46:7,11)

Again, he is with us even now, and he is our fortress. Selah. Pause, ponder, and pray. Hear his words: “Be still, and know that I am God.”

A Prayer

A prayer based on Psalm 46.

God is our refuge and strength,
            a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though pandemic fills the earth,
            though world economies plunge into the heart of the sea,
though media roar and foam,
            and people tremble at the news.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
            the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
            God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
            he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
            the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come, behold the works of the LORD,
            the heavens and earth are stored up for fire.
He will make war cease to the end of the earth;
            he will break all weapons of war;
            he will destroy the subs, silos, and tanks.
He will bring us to his holy habitation.
“Be still, and know that I am God,
            I will be exalted among the nations,
            I will be exalted in the earth.”
The LORD of hosts is with us;
            the God of Jacob is our fortress.
God himself says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” When fear assails us, this is what we do. Share on X

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Why Jews Thought the Messiah Would Be Different

Christians often wonder why so many Jews didn’t recognize that Jesus was the Messiah. As one gal put it, “How could they miss it when it’s so obvious?”

There are a number of reasons, but one was that Jesus wasn’t what the Jews of his day expected. In fact, Jesus surprised even godly Jews like John the Baptist. Here are four ways Jesus differed from expectations, and why these differences are so much better.

1. Jesus’s kingdom was not of this world.

“Messiah” comes from the Hebrew for “anointed one.” It’s one of the titles of the kings descended from David. “Christ” comes from the Greek for “anointed one. “Christ” and “messiah” are synonymous.

God interrupted David’s dynasty when the kings stopped submitting to God as the King of kings. But the prophets who announced the exile that ended their reign also announced that God would bring the exiles back and would send a new king descended from David. This king would rule forever:

Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.

Isaiah 9:7

The Jews expected an immediate reign on earth.

By Jesus’s day, the exiles had long ago returned, but the promised messiah hadn’t appeared. Instead, Rome ruled them. Because of this, most Jews expected a messiah to lead a revolt against Rome and establish an earthly kingdom at once. In fact, others had already declared themselves messiahs and had revolted in vain.

Jesus fulfilled some prophecies about the messiah in his first coming.

Messiah preaching
“Christ Preaching” (La Petite Tombe), by Rembrandt (public domain)

Jesus identified himself as the messiah (John 4:25-26). He was descended from David and was born in Bethlehem. He also performed signs that were expected in the age of the messiah’s rule, such as giving sight to the blind and healing the lame, and he sent word to John the Baptist that this was evidence he was the messiah (Isaiah 35:5-6; Matthew 11:4-5; Luke 5:24; 18:42). He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey colt as the people welcomed him as messiah in fulfillment of prophecy (Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:4-9).

Because of this, Jesus’s disciples expected him to establish an earthly kingdom immediately. That’s why they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). It’s also why John the Baptist was confused when Jesus didn’t rescue him from prison (Matthew 11:2-3).

Jesus did not fulfill all prophecies about the messiah in his first coming.

Jesus did not establish a kingdom on earth at his first coming. Instead, he said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). He also withdrew when people tried to force him to be king. In addition, he explained that the kingdom of God was going to be a different type of kingdom:

Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

Luke 17:20-21

Jesus will fulfill remaining prophecies in the future.

So then, how will Jesus fulfill the prophecies about ruling forever? First, Jesus rules at the Father’s right hand now (Ephesians 1:20-21). But there’s more to come. Jesus said he will return “on the clouds of heaven” and will gather his servants “from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Daniel 7:13-14; Matthew 24:30-31). God will make a new heaven and earth, and the new Jerusalem will descend on it (Revelation 21:1-2). The “throne of God and of the Lamb” will be there and Jesus’s servants will reign with him “forever and ever” (Revelation 22:3-5).

2. Jesus was both messiah and the prophet like Moses.

Jesus fed the crowds who concluded he was both Messiah and Prophet
“The Feeding of the Five Thousand” by Jacobo Bassano (public domain)

In the first century AD, Jews desired the fulfillment of prophecies about both a messiah and a prophet like Moses. That is why when Jesus began teaching and performing miraculous signs, “some of the people said, ‘This really is the Prophet.’ Others said, ‘This is the Christ’” (John 7:40-41).

The expectation of a prophet like Moses comes from this prophecy:

The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen… And the LORD said to me, “… I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.”

Deuteronomy 18:15,17-19

Jesus gave many signs that he was the prophet like Moses. For example, Moses turned water to blood and Jesus turned water to wine. Like Moses, Jesus commanded the sea and it obeyed. With Moses, the people ate manna that miraculously appeared in the wilderness; with Jesus, the people ate bread and fish that miraculously multiplied in the wilderness.

Some Jewish leaders desired neither a messiah nor a prophet.

Painting of Messiah Driving the Money Changers from the Temple
“Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple” by Rembrandt (public domain)

The Jewish leadership consisted of members from two competing Jewish sects: the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Sadducees were aristocratic and wealthy priests who wanted good relations with Rome so they could stay in power. They hoped for neither a messiah nor a resurrection, partly because they held the five books of Moses in higher regard than other OT books, such as the writings of the prophets.

Jesus presented problems for priests. First, Moses had had authority over even the high priest. Therefore, if a prophet like Moses appeared, the Sadducees would have to give up their authority and status. This was apparent when Jesus drove money changers and sellers out of the temple, thus challenging the priests’ authority to run the temple as they they saw fit (Mark 11:15-18).

Second, they wanted to prevent anyone claiming to be a messiah (king) from gaining followers lest Rome quell not only the rebellion but also the Sadducees’ power.

Many Jewish leaders expected a messiah submissive to them in spiritual matters.

The rest of the Jewish leaders were Pharisees. They wanted a warrior king who would lead a revolt against Rome, but who also would be submissive to them in spiritual matters. They taught that the messiah and prophet were two different people.

Why was it important to Pharisees that the messiah and prophet be different?

The Pharisees had a set of rules that they used to interpret how the law of Moses should be applied. For example, their rules described what could and couldn’t be done on the Sabbath. The problem for them was that Moses had been the ultimate authority for how to apply the law, so a prophet like Moses might threaten their authority. Indeed, that’s what happened.

Jesus rejected the Pharisees’ authority to interpret the law of Moses.

Jewish leaders accuse the Messiah
False witnesses accuse Jesus before the ruling council (José Madrazo, 1803, public domain)

When Jesus healed people, the Pharisees told him to stop doing so on the Sabbath. Jesus told them their reasoning was bad, and he continued healing. He also pointed out that they rejected God’s commands in favor of their rules, which he disparaged as mere “tradition of men” (Mark 7:8-13). That Jesus rejected their traditions about how to apply the law incensed the Pharisees and convinced most of them that he couldn’t be the messiah.

The crowds embraced Jesus as both messiah and prophet.

Unlike the Jewish leaders, the crowds were fine with the messiah also being the prophet like Moses. That’s why they declared him “the Prophet who is to come into the world” and then attempted to make him king (John 6:13-14). But ruling on earth wasn’t part of Jesus’s immediate plan.

Still, when large crowds started following Jesus because of his miracles, the Jewish leaders feared they would lose their power:

So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

John 11:47-48

The Sadducees didn’t care that Jesus rejected the Pharisees’ traditions—they did too. But they cared a lot about losing their waning political power.

3. The messiah was the suffering servant.

Isaiah prophesied about a righteous, suffering servant. But no one thought the messiah and the suffering servant could be the same person. Why? Because the messiah was supposed to rule forever, while the suffering servant had to die:

And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Isaiah 53:9
Crucifixion of Messiah before Resurrection
“The Crucifixion” by Rembrandt (public domain)

See the problem? The Jews didn’t see how the messiah whom they thought would save Israel from Rome and establish an everlasting kingdom could also be the suffering servant who dies. That is why when Jesus told his disciples that he would suffer, be killed, and on the third day be raised, Peter rebuked him and said this would never happen (Matthew 16:21-22).

That also is why when Jesus told the crowd he would be lifted up from the earth, they surmised that he was speaking of death and replied, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up?” (John 12:34).

Isaiah gave clues that the suffering servant was the messiah.

Four Servant Songs proclaim the coming of a righteous, suffering servant: Isaiah 42:1-9; 49:1-12; 50:4-9; and 52:13-53:12. They hint of similarities between the suffering servant and the messiah, for both would

  • be anointed by God’s Spirit (Isaiah 11:2; 42:1);
  • bring justice (Isaiah 9:7; 42:1; Jeremiah 23:5);
  • be righteous (Isaiah 42:6; 53:11; Jeremiah 23:5);
  • make others righteous (Isaiah 53:11; 61:3; Jeremiah 33:15-16);
  • bring peace (Isaiah 9:6-7; 53:5; Ezekiel 34:24-25);
  • participate in bringing Israel back to God (Isaiah 49:5; Jeremiah 23:3-5); and
  • be part of a new covenant (Isaiah 42:6; Ezekiel 34:24-25).

Jesus fulfilled prophecies about the suffering servant.

That Jesus was crucified with the wicked and buried in a rich man’s tomb clearly fulfills prophecy about the suffering servant (Isaiah 53:8-9 cf. Luke 23:32-33,50-53). But the next two verses reveal something remarkable.

Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

Isaiah 53:10-11

This passage says that though the servant died, he shall prolong his days! in other words, the suffering servant will come back to life. Moreover, because Jesus conquered death as the suffering servant, he reigns as Messiah forever.

4. The prophet was also the suffering servant.

Ascension of Christ (Messiah) after resurrection
“The Ascension of Christ” by Rembrandt (public domain)

Moses was a type of Jesus. Jesus was not merely a prophet speaking God’s words, he was the Word who was God (John 1:1).

Isaiah’s prophecies about the suffering servant show the servant had similarities to but was far superior to Moses. The Lord God gave the first covenant through Moses, but he gave the suffering servant as the new covenant (Isaiah 42:6-7). The suffering servant fulfilled everything the sacrificial system put in place by Moses could not fully do (Isaiah 53:5-6). He was the light for the nations that Israel failed to become under the law of Moses (Isaiah 49:6). And as suffering servant, Jesus died, arose, and atoned for people’s sin as Moses wanted to do but could not (Exodus 32:30; Isaiah 53:12).

Conclusion

The Jews expected the promised messiah to lead a revolt on earth, but Jesus said his kingdom was not of this world. They thought that the messiah, the prophet like Moses, and the suffering servant were three different people, but Jesus demonstrated he is all three. Because he is the suffering servant who died and rose again, he is Messiah King who will reign forever in the new heaven and earth. As the suffering servant, Jesus fulfilled all to which Moses and the sacrificial system pointed. And because the suffering servant bore our iniquities, we can become God’s children and live in his kingdom with him eternally.

That’s good news!

Because Jesus conquered death as the suffering servant, he reigns as Messiah forever. Share on X
Discovering Jesus in the OT as Messiah

Find out more about Jesus as Messiah in Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament

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  • Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament by me, Pam Farrel, and Karla Dornacher: This Bible study shows how God revealed his plan of redemption in the OT. It combines Q&A, short devotionals, and gorgeous art.
  • Christ from Beginning to End by Trent Hunter and Stephen Wellum: An interesting, easy-to-read book that divides biblical history by God’s covenants.
  • NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible edited by D.A. Carson: If you want a study Bible that traces God’s redemptive plan, this is for you! I’m currently reading this one and it’s my favorite study Bible yet.
  • Typos by Leonhard Goppelt, translated by Donald H. Madvig: For those who enjoy scholarly depth, this look at how the NT interprets the OT typologically is fantastic (the Greek title is pronounced “TWO-poss”).
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5 Things Christians Should Know about Omnipresence

It’s no surprise that when I was a child, I didn’t know the word omnipresence. In fact, I pictured God as a bald man with just a fringe of short dark hair behind his ears. I thought he lived above the sky and occasionally poked his head through the clouds to peek at what was happening in the world.

That’s far from what the Bible teaches us about God! Instead, God is Spirit and innately invisible to human eyes (John 4:24; Romans 1:20). He’s able to “see” everywhere in the universe at once. His ability to do that is what we call omnipresence. But omnipresence is often misunderstood. Therefore, here are 5 things Christians should know about God’s omnipresence.

1) Omnipresence means God’s presence fills the universe.

Omnipresence
Orion

The word omnipresence isn’t in the Bible. But it describes something we do see in the Bible: God is present everywhere. For example, the prophet Jeremiah wrote, “Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:24).

Similarly, David described God’s presence everywhere like this:

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

Psalm 139:7-12

God is Spirit

Jesus said, “God is spirit” (John 4:24). So he doesn’t have a physical body like we do. Therefore, according to theologian Millard Erickson,

he does not have the limitations involved with a physical body. For one thing, he is not limited to a particular geographical or spatial location.

Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 267-8.

Scholars sometimes debate whether omnipresence has more to do with God’s ability to know everything that happens everywhere or with his power to hold all things together (Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3). What matters, though, is what God’s ability to be everywhere means for us.

Omnpresence in Serpens Nebula
Serpens Nebula HBC 672. Credits: NASA, ESA, STSci. Public domain.

What this means for us

God’s omnipresence is frightful for wrongdoers, for the Judgment will miss nothing. In fact, God even knows thoughts and intentions (Psalm 139:2; Hebrews 4:12-13).

But for his worshipers, God’s omnipresence means that he is never out of reach. When those who belong to him pray, he hears. When those who want to know him seek him, he responds. When we suffer, he knows. When we try to please him, he rewards.

2) Creation is not God.

Sometimes people think that if God’s presence is everywhere, creation must be God. In fact, those involved with the new spirituality (or New Age movement) hold this view. Alisa Childers explains:

One of the core principles of the new spirituality is that everything in the universe (including you and me) is made up of the same substance and reality. In other words, there is no separation between you, your dog, and the tree outside that your dog just peed on. This worldview is called pantheism and believes that “God” is a type of divine consciousness or energy that is one and the same with the universe, something we can tap into as we become more “enlightened.”

Alisa Childers, “I’m Not Religious; I’m Spiritual! New Spirituality,” in Mama Bear Apologetics: Empowering Your Kids to Challenge Cultural Lies, ed. Hillary Morgan Ferer, 202.

While creation reflects God, creation is not the Creator. Rather, the Creator made the heavens and earth from nothing (Genesis 1:1; Acts 17:24-25). Moreover, God “is never identical to those created things” (Vern S. Poythress, Theophany: A Biblical Theology of God’s Appearing, 167).

Even though many today embrace pantheism as new spirituality, it is an old idea, as C.S. Lewis pointed out:

Pantheism is congenial to our minds not because it is the final stage in a slow process of enlightenment, but because it is almost as old as we are. It may even be the most primitive of all religions.

C.S. Lewis, Miracles: A Preliminary Study, 84.

That’s not the only reason people find pantheism attractive. The apostle Paul wrote that when humans abandoned God, they “worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25).

What this means for us

God’s omnipresence does not mean he is identical to creation. Therefore, we worship the Creator, not creation.

God’s omnipresence does not mean he is identical to creation. Therefore, we worship the Creator, not creation. Share on X

3) God has sometimes made his presence known via theophanies.

At certain significant times in history, God revealed his presence in a special way that humans could sense. For example, a cloud descended on the tabernacle and first temple at their dedications (Numbers 9:15; 1 Kings 8:10). These temporary manifestations are called theophanies.

Omnipresence and theophanies
God and two angels visit Abraham in “Abraham and the Angels” by Aert de Gelder, 1680-1685 [public domain]

But here’s the thing. A theophany doesn’t mean that God is present in just the place and time of the theophany. He’s still present everywhere even though he’s manifesting his presence in a special, intense way at a certain time and place (A.H. Leitch, Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Merrill C. Tenney, gen. ed., vol. 4, s.v. “omnipresence”).

Theophanies serve specific purposes. For example, the cloud theophanies at the dedications of the tabernacle and first temple showed people they had a place they could go to meet with God in a special way.

Dr. Poythress puts it this way:

According to biblical teaching, God is present as ruler and Lord in all places and at all times (Jer. 23:24; Rev. 1:8). This universal presence of God goes together with his special presence with the people that are his.

Theophany, 200.

Additionally, the Holy Spirit now indwells all those who belong to God, and their bodies are his temple (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19).

What this means for us

While God is omnipresent, he is present with his people in special ways.

4) God limits how much his presence is experienced by humans.

C.S. Lewis described why God doesn’t make his presence known more often in his novel, The Screwtape Letters. There, a senior devil named Screwtape writes to his nephew Wormwood to teach him about their Enemy, God.

The Screwtape Letters: Annotated Edition by [Lewis, C. S.]

You must have often wondered why the Enemy does not make more use of His power to be sensibly present to human souls in any degree He chooses at any moment. But you now see that the Irresistible and Indisputable are the two weapons which the very nature of His scheme forbids Him to use. Merely to over-ride a human will (as His felt presence in any but the faintest and most mitigated degree would certainly do) would be for Him useless. He cannot ravish. He can only woo. For His ignoble idea is to eat his cake and have it; the creatures are to be one with Him, but yet themselves; merely to cancel them, or assimilate them, will not serve. He is prepared to do a little over-riding at the beginning. He will set them off with communications of His presence which, though faint, seem great to them, with emotional sweetness, and easy conquest over temptation. But He never allows this state of affairs to last long. Sooner or later He withdraws, if not in fact, at least from their conscious experience, all those supports and incentives. He leaves the creature to stand up on its own legs—to carry out from the will alone duties which have lost all relish. It is during such trough periods, much more than the peak periods, that it is growing into the sort of creature He wants it to be. Hence the prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please Him best. We can drag our patients along by continual tempting, because we design them only for the table, and the more their will is interfered with the better. He cannot “tempt” to virtue as we do to vice. He wants them to learn to walk and must therefore take away his hand; and if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased even with their stumbles.  Do not be deceived Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.

C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, 46-7. Emphasis mine.

What this means for us

We can trust God’s promise to never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) even when we can’t sense his presence.

5) God will one day dwell with humans in a greater way.

God is omnipresent and has at times demonstrated a special presence with his people. Now the Holy Spirit indwells his people. But something more is coming. God will resurrect his people so that they can dwell with him in the new heaven and earth in a fuller, more immediate, and more palpable sense:

Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

Revelation 21:3

They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

Revelation 22:4

What this means for us

Those belonging to God’s kingdom will dwell with him forevermore, his presence with them in a glorious way. Hallelujah!

Want to know more about God’s plan to dwell with humans? Check out my latest book, Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament.

Discovering Jesus in the OT cover
Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament

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