Recover the old paths through Pocket Companion Series by Andrew Murray, and present a voice on spiritual understanding about life. 經由慕安得烈著的口袋伴侶系列來恢復古道, 和對生命的瞭解提出一個聲音。
If we believe absolutely what the Bible says, with logic and the consistency of the Bible, we’ll get unique answers for seemly controversial questions. We would like to ask and answer an example of such a question by using the miracle of healing the man who was lame for thirty-eight years. First, we review the that rule used when selecting the seven miracles in the Gospel of John is to have life. According to Jesus, the purpose of reading the Bible is the same, to have life. This also explains the necessity of reading the Bible. Then we explain why our role in having life can only be called “actively passive”. Then we describe the relevant verses of the third miracle in the Gospel of John, healing a thirty-eight-year lame, and the associated explanations. A verse mentions ‘My Father is working until now,’ which is what we discussed before regarding one of the controversial verses. We’ll use the beginning of the Book of Genesis, logic, and the consistency of the Bible to provide the answer. Thirdly, we describe the fourth miracle in the Gospel of John which is to use five loaves and two fish to feed five thousand. We state the relevant verses and what we saw. Apparently, this miracle is very important since it is mentioned in all four Gospels. They are all based on one fact but are described with different aspects. Thus, we need to choose their union. In other words, the description must fulfill all four of them, in order not to miss anything.
1. Preface: In having life, why can we only play the role of so called actively passive?
Gospel John said clearly in John 20:30-31 how He chose the seven miracles (signs) out of so many, “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” Jesus said Himself the purpose of reading the Bible, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.”(John 5:39-40) Apparently, having life is our goal, and thus is very important. Therefore, there’s a necessity of reading the Bible. Furthermore, the Bible is inspired by God. Reading the Bible accurately will let us know what God wants to tell us through the Bible. Therefore, we can conclude that seeing something in the aspect of the Bible is the sufficient condition of seeing the same thing in the aspect of God, but not a necessary condition due to the fact that it is not necessarily to have all things described in the Bible. As an example, the Gospel of John doesn’t record all miracles. We cannot make them equal.
We know the life can only come from God as described in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.” So, it needs the revelation of the God to make life grow. Revelation is not all supernatural. God often tells us what to do through people. For example, after Paul saw the big light, the Lord told Ananias through the vision to tell Paul as described in Acts 9:15-16, “But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
Let us take a look at how Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:17, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.” We can see in the Book of James that we can pray to get the heavenly wisdom as long as we are Christians. There is no other condition, but without specifying the time framework. Therefore, there is not any contradictions to the absolute authority of God. Because God has the absolute authority. Therefore, He is active in the matter of having life and we are passive. We can only be willingly active to follow Him. Thus, it is so called actively passive. Realize this point is really important since it is similar to say that a branch must be connected to the vine to bear fruit since the life of a branch is from the vine.
2. Healing a thirty-eight-year lame: The third miracle in Gospel John
In John 5:1-9, it says, “After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, [waiting for the moving of the waters for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.] A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?” The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day.” From theses verses, we can see why there were so many in there. We can also see that Jesus had mercy on that lame actively. We know that Jesus uses different ways to perform miracles depending on the situations. This time, He simply used His words just like in the beginning of the Book of Genesis described, “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.”(Psalms 33:9)
In John 5:10-15, it says, “So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.” But he answered them, “He who made me well was the one who said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.'” They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk’?” But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.” The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.” We can see that the lame person became lame is because of his committing sin, since Jesus told him not to sin anymore. This is consistent with the gospel Jesus preaches. “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”(Matthew 4:17)
This is not the only time that Jesus told people not to sin. For example, it is said in John 8:4,10-11, “Straightening up, Jesus said to her (this woman has been caught in adultery), “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”” If we look at the corresponding verses of this event, we know why Jesus said so and He had mercy on her actively.
It continues to describe what happened in John 5:16-18, “For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.”
Based on the words, “My Father is working until now,” we can only have one logical explanation for this sentence as the following figure shows, if we believe absolutely what the Bible says.
Why? In Genesis 1:1-5, it says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” If we believe what the Bible says is absolutely true, we know this one day means the present one day since there was evening and there was morning. When we share the Book of Genesis, we’ll discuss this in more detail. Please notice that the verses don’t say how many days passed before there was the light. To explain the figure, because Adam chose the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it started the circle in the sixth day, which represents the ‘salvation plan.’ We are in the middle of the circle. That is why “My Father is working until now,” not yet in rest. We don’t know how big the circle is, which corresponds to the fact we don’t know when the Lord comes again as said in Revelation 16:15, “…I am coming like a thief…”
After the salvation plan is completed, men will be restored to the state when created, but already with the choice of the fruit of the tree of life. God will be in rest according to the ‘original hope’ that Adam might choose the fruit of the tree of life. Of course, if Adam chose the fruit of the tree of life at that time, He would be in rest by the original hope and there’s not the circle. From the above discussion, we can see why there is only one logical explanation. Someone may say that we could explain differently by stretching the circle as a straight line before at the end of sixth day to represent the salvation plan. However, this is incorrect for the following reason. The last segment then represents many and unknown present one days not the seventh day. In the circle, one day represents one present day.
Regarding the true requirements of the Sabbath, it is said clearly in Isaiah 58:13-14, “If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot From doing your own pleasure on My holy day, And call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, And honor it, desisting from your own ways, From seeking your own pleasure And speaking your own word, Then you will take delight in the Lord, And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” What Jesus did was to fulfill the true requirements, not according to the law. He is the Lord even of the Sabbath as said in Mark 2:27-28, “Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
This point can also be seen from examples like the following verses. In Matthew 12:11-12, it is said, “And He said to them, “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”” And in Luke 13:14-17, it says, “But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, …And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?” As He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.”
“Do not quench the Spirit,”(1 Thessalonians 5:19) the Law will be fulfilled automatically. Because the Holy Spirit is the spirit of Truth, He will not lead us to the disobedience to the Law. “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”(Matthew 5:17-18)
3. Feeding five thousand: The fourth miracle in Gospel John
The background of this event is described in John 6:1-4, “After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.” From these verses, we can see that miracles are really important, which could make people at least follow Him.
The situation at that time is stated in John 6:5-7, “Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” Well, Phillips saw the issue in the aspect of human, and there was no solution. Jesus viewed the same event in the aspect of God, which is simply to perform a miracle.
Regarding the miracle itself, it is described clearly in John 6:8-13, “One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.”
This miracle is often mentioned and is referred to as the miracle of five loaves and two fish, which feed five thousand and even had twelve baskets of leftovers afterwards. Such large quantities of food are not out of nowhere like in creation, since they have the seed from five loaves and two fish. This reminds us the verse in John 12:24, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” We don’t know why the lad was willing to give up the five loaves and two fish, all he had. We can guess, but we never know since the Bible doesn’t mention such unimportant things. Please notice that Jesus blessed first before dividing loaves and fish. We also see the reaction of Jesus is very different from normal people as described in John 6:14-15, “Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.” Generally, a normal person may at least welcome the thought of making him a king.
Apparently, this miracle is very important since it is mentioned in all four Gospels. They are all based upon one fact but described in different aspects. Thus, we need to choose their union as they are all based upon one fact. In other words, the description must fulfill all four of them, not to miss anything. In Matthew 14:15-21, “When it was evening, …the disciples …said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.” Here, it is mentioned when the miracle happened. And there were also women and children. Thus, the total number must be over five thousand. As for how many, some people guessed. As said before, the Bible doesn’t say clearly, we will never know precisely how many people were fed.
In Mark 6:35-44, it says, “When it was already quite late, …And He commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass. They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. …They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces, and also of the fish. There were five thousand men who ate the loaves.” Here, it is mentioned how they sit in detail. No wonder that they could estimate how many. Furthermore, we can guess that only men were counted in the row, which is also consistent with the Jewish custom at that time.
Finally, in Luke 9:10-17, it says, “When the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done. Taking them with Him, He withdrew by Himself to a city called Bethsaida. But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing. Now the day was ending, …And He said to His disciples, “Have them sit down to eat in groups of about fifty each.” They did so, and had them all sit down. Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the people. And they all ate and were satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve baskets full.” Here, the place of the miracle is given. Although He tried to withdraw by Himself, but the crowds found Him. We can also see that what He talked about before the miracle is about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.
Although the three Gospels offer a slightly different information, they are basically about the same for this miracle. From many such things, we can see why they are called the synoptic gospel.
(Verses refer to those in NASB unless otherwise specified.)
First, we can see that the Gospel of John clearly says the criterion of selecting these particular seven miracles among so many choices. He wanted people to believe that Jesus is Christ. We had discussed the first miracle in Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. Today, we’ll share the second miracle of healing the son of a royal official. The word miracle (G4592) in the Gospel of John means sign, which points out that Jesus is Christ. It is not the same as wonders (G5059). Only having wonders for the purpose of showing off is useless. With only wonders, it will often make people believe the person can perform such wonders and make that person easily be proud to the extent that he doesn’t realize that he is proud. We should not believe that all supernatural things are from God, which must be consistent with what the Bible says. It is not easy to discern, but we must. We’ll present such a testimony at the end. We shouldn’t be confused. God often wants us to face our real ourselves.
1. Preface: The standard of choosing miracles in the Gospel of John
In John 20:30-31, it says clearly, “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” Jesus Himself said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.”(John 5:39-40) From these verses, we can see that having life is very important. God emphasizes what we are more than what we do. But we really need both. And we shouldn’t be upside down. If we have faith, then we’ll have the action from the faith like what it says in James 1:22-24, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.” If our life is indeed the light and the salt, we can then do the work of the light and the salt.
2. Why does Jesus perform miracles?
In John 4:47-48, it says, “When he (a royal official at Capernaum) heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs (G4592) and wonders (G5059), you simply will not believe.”” We can see the purpose of performing miracles is to have people believe Him. “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing.”(John 2:23) His disciples behaved the same as said in John 2:11, “This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.” As a matter of fact, during the period of the Word becoming the flesh, He performed a lot of miracles, but not a lot of people believed Him! When the Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost, not too many people attended the ceremony when the Church was created.
In John 3:1-2, it describes when a Pharisee saw the fact that the God was with Jesus, so he at last was able to openly express his faith. “Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”” We can see the man came to Jesus by night, not wanting to be seen. At last, he openly expressed his faith. “Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight.”(John 19:39)
The word sign (G4592) which is translated as miracle in Chinese appears 69 times, more than the word wonder (G5059), which only appears 16 times and is mentioned together with miracles every time. Only having wonders for the purpose of displaying power is useless. With only wonders, it will often make people believe the person can perform such wonders and make that person easily be proud to the extent that he doesn’t realize that he is proud. If it is a miracle, it must be what God does through the person. The power behind miracles is from the God.
3. There are miracles and wonders nowadays.
In the past, there were miracles and wonders as described in Acts 4:29-30, “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence, while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.” We also have them nowadays as is clearly stated in Acts 2:16-20, “but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel, ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ …’And I will grant wonders in the sky above And signs on the earth below, …Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come.” Why do we have miracles? It is as said in Acts 14:3, “Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands.” Miracles are there to testify of the word of His grace, not merely saying something so.
Here is an example to demonstrate that which is not from God as described in Matthew 24:24 “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.” Therefore, we must not accept all supernatural things as from the God. We need to check them with what the Bible says. Knowing the purposes of miracles help us to discern if it is from God. As shared before, Satan cannot have foreknowledge, and he can only guess, like weather forecasting. As an example, in Genesis 15:13, “God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years.”” Satan cannot know ahead, “The angel of the Lord appeared to him (Moses) in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.”(Exodus 3:2) As another example, Satan cannot know ahead what was described in Job 38:1, “Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind …”
4. The second miracle of healing the son of royal official
The occasion is recorded in John 4:46-48, “Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.”” In John 4:49-54, we can see that the official showed his great faith by not seeing but believing and its result, “The royal official said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off. As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives”; and he himself believed and his whole household. This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.”
In this event, whether his son has faith or not isn’t a key point. The Bible doesn’t say if his son had faith. What the father did due to love may not even be known by his son! This is an example in which a person can pray for others due to his own faith alone and be granted. In John 20:28-29, it says, “Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”” Thomas followed Jesus for more than three years, but he still wanted to see proof. We cannot blame people that want to see miracles. But we really should know that miracles are to testify the word of His grace. Don’t get it wrong and use them just to show off. To be sure, God has the absolute authority. Don’t think that they can be granted for sure by just asking. Actually, the fact that the life of Christians can be changed is in itself a great miracle which we cannot do ourselves.
Miracles are indeed not used to show off. He knows when to perform them as said in Matthew 16:1-4, “The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. But He replied to them, “…Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away.”
5. Testimony: not all supernatural things are miracles, must be consistent with the Bible
Last year, I had to decide if I would share one thing. After doing what I could do as a human, something supernatural happened to me. One day, when I walked on the greenbelt (a road so called locally), I suddenly had a thought that I should visit two elderly sisters. They had misunderstanding previously and hadn’t talked to each other for more than a year. For a long while, I was hoping that they could make peace. If I went at that time, the situation would become better. The way to their home is not easy for me after I had brain surgery, as evidenced by the fact that I had to ask my wife to give me a ride on my way back. I didn’t dare ignore my feeling since in the past I had also been in a similar situation but ignored it that time. I had previously felt like I should visit the husband of one of the sisters. He was well at that time, but after a period of time suddenly passed away. I didn’t get a chance to see him at that time. The decision of not going at that time was not easy for me since I was also in a similar situation even before the event of feeling to visit her husband to share the Gospel with a dying friend. After that particular visit, the dying friend was baptized and his wife told me that he was peaceful after baptized until he was passed away. After a while, his wife was also baptized.
To my surprise, the way to their homes was very smooth although there was an uphill area that was very long for me. And they talked to each other the first time after a long while. I decided to share since I had done everything I could and had a peaceful mind. Of course, it was also due to this supernatural event. After this decision, I was stimulated again to confirm it with my wife since God sometimes used her words to reveal to me. So, I showed her the materials I prepared, and she told me, ” Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. …”(Romans 12:17) For the same event, what I came out before was in Romans 12:21, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” At that time, I believed that only God can overcome evil with good. I didn’t know what to do, but lost peace. Since there was already a supernatural thing, I prayed correspondingly that I would share for sure unless there was another supernatural thing happened. Out of my expectations, there was an unexplained thing occurred and we couldn’t explain even nowadays. The final result was that I didn’t share.
Here we’ll share one thought which we couldn’t find on the web through our limited search. We are not trying to act outside the box, but we really couldn’t figure out any mistakes from what the Bible says and through logic. First, we have to say that the consistency of the Bible means what God tells us through the Bible is consistent, not means the consistency literally. If the latter is true, then there are apparent contradictions. We’ll use one example to illustrate this point. If we do believe that the Bible is inspired by God, and use the Bible as our absolute standard, then we’ll believe what the Bible says without adding our own opinions. In this case, we can see that the four living creatures is unique which is our second subtopic. In this same direction, the third subtopic will be to use the original language of the Bible in Strong’s Concordance to discuss why the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders form one body. Finally, we can see the relationship of the four living creatures representing the Church in heaven. This viewpoint will lead to different observations for the relevant portions in the Book of Revelations, and we’ll share these in the future when the occasion arises.
1. Preface: Bible is our absolute standard
We know in Isaiah 55:8-9, it says, “”For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.”” God has the absolute authority. And the Bible is inspired by God, so we should regard the Bible as our absolute standard. We should be in very deed as Psalms 119:147-148 says, “I rise before dawn and cry for help; I wait for Your words. My eyes anticipate the night watches, That I may meditate on Your word.” Here I might perceive differently from other people. Putting God’s words on a person doesn’t implies the person has to be able to recite the words. As long as the words are buried inside a person, God can make him through Holy Spirit to recall the words just like what Peter did, “And I (Peter) remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'”(Acts 11:16)
We often quote Isaiah 40:31, “Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.” If we are in Christ, we can indeed be mount up with wings like eagles and fly like an eagle in the kingdom of heaven because He can. Yes, we have to wait upon the Lord, and wait for His time too since everything has a predestined time by Him. If we indeed believe what Bible says, we know that we have already in the kingdom of His Son as said in Colossians 1:13, “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” We can indeed fly like an eagle in the kingdom of heaven as said in Hebrews 4:16, “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Let us emphasize again that we must use the Bible as our absolute standard. We shared before that logic was merely an instrument. If a hypothesis is different, then the result will be different when we put it into the logic machine. If we firmly believe what the Bible says, we’ll come up with a different hypothesis.
2. What does the consistency in the Bible mean?
The consistency of the Bible means what the Bible tells us is consistent. I checked with limited examples and used extrapolation to get this result. I have no choice but to use extrapolation as God is infinite and man is finite. If we indeed believe that the Bible is inspired by God, then we’ll believe what the Bible says for sure. It isn’t easy, particularly when there are apparent contradictions literally speaking. In these cases, people normally try to explain the contradictions away and forgot that God is omniscient. He knows the apparent contradictions and still put them there. What does He want to convey to us through them?
Along this line, let us use one controversial example regarding the mountain of transfiguration. According to Matthew 17:1 and Mark 9:2, “Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves.” (Matthew 17:1) But according to Luke 9:28, it is eight days later. Is it important if the time is in six days or eight days? There are people saying that it all depends on how you count a day. If you can count differently, the six days are the same as the eight days. I have no idea if such counting is correct. If the explanation is correct, will it edify people? It is merely knowledge. Whether it edifies people is the question we should ask. How many days are not really important here? The emphasis is the similar words used in three Gospels, “And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.”(Matthew 17:8) In other words, we should turn our eyes to Jesus, and only on Him. We have to be in Christ. Of course, there are other things that happened on the mountain of transfiguration such as the appearance of Moses and Elijah. We’ll share about them when opportunities arise.
3. The four living beings in the book of Revelation is unique
Next, we’ll use the Bible as our absolute standard to explain what the four living beings in the book of Revelation are. In other words, our hypothesis in logic is that the Bible is our absolute standard. In the Bible, the only other time mentioning the four living beings is in the book of Ezekiel, where the time and the place are clearly described in Ezekiel 1:1, “Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the river Chebar among the exiles, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.” Regarding the four living beings, there are quite a few statements. We will look at Ezekiel 1:5-6 which will suffice for our purpose, “…And this was their appearance: …Each of them had four faces and four wings.” And it also says in Ezekiel 10:20-22, “These are the living beings that I saw beneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar; so I knew that they were cherubim. Each one had four faces and each one four wings, …As for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the river Chebar…” Thus, the Bible says clearly that the four living beings are the same cherubim with four wings.
Let us then take a look at the four living beings in the Book of Revelation, “…and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; …”(Revelation 4:6-8) These are four different creatures and each of them with six wings. If we believe fully what the Bible says, how can these be the same as what Ezekiel saw? There are people saying that they are similar. They are correct since the four living creatures are similar but different. God is faithful and they are similar, and He cannot describe as if they are the same. In fact, if those people say that they’re similar according to the Bible, they have already admitted that they are different.
We can clearly see the obedience of John in Revelation 10:4. It says, “When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them.”” He indeed didn’t write what the seven peals of thunder said. What he wrote is what he saw, is believable. Like what he said in Revelation 22:18-19, “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.” From another aspect, the Bible is inspired by God. If he made a mistake, won’t God know about it and correct it? Yes, He would. We in every deed should be ‘let God be God’ and not discount His words, so that we have a chance not to distort the Bible like what Peter warned. Peter is definitely qualified to give such warnings since his mind was opened by Jesus Himself so that he could understand the Scriptures.
Let us mention it by passing, the Bible describes only one time regarding the usage of the six wings when Seraphim was mentioned inIsaiah 6:1-2, “In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.” Seraphim is the same and is apparently different from the four living creatures described in the Book of Revelations. So, the four living creatures are unique. But we do know that they are in heaven, and are spiritual.
4. The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders
When we see the four living creatures are unique, we’ll think along this direction. Because I don’t understand the original languages used in the Bible, I have to use books like the Strong’s Concordance as instrument to see how Bibles in the original languages say. First, we notice the first appearance of the four creatures and the twenty-four elders is in Revelation 4:4-6, “Around the throne were …twenty-four elders sitting, …and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind.” Then we see that the four creatures and the twenty-four elders are often mentioned together, and let see all such verses. In Revelation 4:9-10, it says, “And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, …the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, …” In Revelation 5:11-14, it says, “Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; …And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped.” In Revelation 7:11, it says, “And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God.” In Revelation 14:3, it says, “And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth.” In Revelation 19:4, it says, “And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped …” Finally, in Revelation 5:6-8 (KJV used in Concordance), it says, “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, …And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having (G2192) every one (G1538) of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.“
Some people may think that there are only the twenty-four elders that hold the harp and golden bowls. So, we have to use the Bible in the original language to determine this. If the verse only means the twenty-four elders, then it should use G3588 which means who or which, just like in Revelation 2:1, it says, “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who (G3588) walks among the seven golden lampstands, …” The words G3588 appears in the Book of revelation sixty-six times already. If it means only for the twenty-four elders, it’ll not hurt to use it once more? Instead, it uses the present participle “having G2192.” The Bible wants us to make sure that we know that it means both the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders. Therefore, they are one.
5. Why do we say the four living creatures stand for the Church in heaven?
The verses alone in here mention the twenty-four elders only by themselves, “Then the seventh angel sounded; …And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, “We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.””(Revelation 11:15-18) Isn’t what said by the twenty-four elders the prayer by churches on earth, which are churches hope for? Furthermore, the golden bowls are full of incense which are the prayers of the saints. Therefore, the twenty-four elders represent the Church in heaven since we are talking about what happens in heaven. Since the four creatures and the twenty-four elders are one, they also have the golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of the saints. At this time, the churches on earth have not yet become His bride yet as said in Revelation 19:7, “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” Therefore, we see the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders represent the only Church in heaven.
In fact, when we see the twenty-four elders offer the golden bowls, it is ordinarily said with basically no disagreement that they represent the Church. Meanwhile, the four living creatures also offer the prayers of the saints, how can they not represent the Church in heaven? This viewpoint will lead to different observations for the relevant portions in the Book of Revelation, which only mention the live creatures. We’ll share these in the future when occasions arise.
(Verses refer to those in NASB unless otherwise specified.)
This is our last time talking about what happened in the Last Supper. We know that God emphasizes more on what we are than what we do. It is in vain if the work of a Christian has no involvement of the Holy Spirit. In the Last Supper, Lord Jesus Christ promised the coming of the Holy Spirit, we see also His abiding in us through the Holy Spirit. Indeed, no one can deprive us of the joy and the peace given by Christ. God sends Jesus, so He says the words of God. Jesus Himself said that He was from the Father. He is the true vine, and we cannot do anything without Him. We know that we need to be united in love and have brotherly love. Finally, through an example, we illustrate to be conformed to the image of Jesus is a reality. We also see that a servant cannot be bigger than his master, and we see His prediction about the hate for Christians from the world.
1. Promise of the coming of Holy Spirit and His work
The promise is stated clearly in John 14:15-18, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” Therefore, the Helper is the Spirit of truth. After the resurrection of Jesus, He arises in Heaven. Through the abiding Holy Spirit, He is with us. Indeed, He doesn’t leave us as orphans like promised.
Regarding the work of the Holy Spirit, it is said in John 16:13-15, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.” Yes, there is action to guide you into. In other words, you should behave as said in James 1:22, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” We also see how Holy Spirit glorifies Him.
In John 14:26, it says, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” They didn’t understand before, even though Jesus said things directly. After the Pentecost, everything became different. In Bible, there are records of this such as in Acts 11:16, “And I (Peter) remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'” In an adequate time, Peter remembered what Jesus had said.
We can see that the Holy Spirit came not to glorify Himself but Jesus. We are not saying that the Holy Spirit is not a person, He is indeed one of Holy Trinity and has His own thinking and will but instead chooses to be humble and obedient, just like how Jesus emptied Himself. When Word became flesh, there is indeed an order. The Father sends the Son, and Holy Spirit will not come if the Son doesn’t go first.
2. Jesus through the abiding Holy Spirit living in us
We as Christians can see Lord Jesus Christ in our heart that He is a true and living God. Just like what we have shared, we cannot prove the fact to you by pure logic. The hypothesis of logic in faith is very different. Let us take a look at how the Bible says in John 14:19-21, “After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” Indeed, He is living in us through the abiding Holy Spirit. We also see the importance of being united as one. As shared before, being a doer is over merely being a hearer. We need to keep His commandments. And it is clearly said that He will disclose Himself to those who love Him.
Then it is followed in John 16:16-18, “”A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me.” Some of His disciples then said to one another, “What is this thing He is telling us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?” So they were saying, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is talking about.””
“Jesus knew that they wished to question Him, and He said to them, “Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me (through Holy Spirit)’? Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.”(John 16:19-20) Jesus said clearly at that time, but they didn’t understand. When seeing His resurrection, they are apparently joyful. And the people of the world who believes will rejoice, because the salvation is completed.
Regarding the abiding Holy Spirit, it is said directly in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” Bible says all facts, not only in faith, but it needs faith to believe. We need to know that sometimes we cannot see a fact because modern science has not reached that point yet as we discussed before about the case of Copernicus (1473-1543). At that time, people couldn’t accept that the Earth rotates around the Sun.
Talking about facts, we may want to see what Paul would say. In 2 Corinthians 12:6, it says, “For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me.” “The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.”(2 Corinthians 11:31) The Holy Spirit often through environments wants us to face the real us, since “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?”(Jeremiah 17:9) We can even cheat ourselves without knowing! In fact, there are examples in the Old Testament such as “Hezekiah listened to them, and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and the house of his armor and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.”(2 Kings 20:13) And he foreknew that he would get penalty as stated in 2 Kings 20:17-18, “‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day will be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord. ‘Some of your sons who shall issue from you, whom you will beget, will be taken away; and they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.'”
3. The joy and the peace given by Christ
No one can deprive the joy and the peace given by Christ. “Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.”(John 16:22) “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”(John 14:27)
In John 16:33, it says, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” Yes, Christians have tribulations just like unbelievers. But it is just like He promised, “I have overcome the world.” “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”(1 Corinthians 10:13) If God doesn’t permit, nothing can happen to you just like what said in the beginning of the Book Job.
Someone may ask what are these things are referred to in John 16:33. Among them is this one. “Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.”(John 16:31-32) We see the results in Mark 14:50-52, “And they all left Him and fled. A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they seized him. But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.” From the aspect of man, the situation at that time was indeed very urgent. Who is this young man? The Bible doesn’t say, so there is no point to guess since we would never know the correct answer.
4. Where Jesus comes from?
Jesus in John 16:27-28 said, “for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father.” Jesus Himself said, “I came forth from the Father.” And the disciples saw what He did and believed Him. Along this direction, “His disciples said, “Lo, now You are speaking plainly and are not using a figure of speech. Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God.”(John 16:29-30) He knew clearly, He was the Word becoming flesh.
In John 3:34, it says, “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure.” One may ask, “How come? Isn’t He the Word becoming flesh? He should be able to do anything. Not in this period though. He emptied Himself and became a man. He needs the guidance of the Holy Spirit just like us. But He gives the Spirit without measure, and we are limited.
He was nailed to the cross for us, but promised to come again. “You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. Now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe. I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me;but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. …”(John 14:28-31) We are glad to know that Satan has nothing in Him. Regarding what He said about the Father being greater than Him, it is referring to the period that the Word became flesh. At that period of time, there is an order. The Father sends the Son, and Holy Spirit don’t come unless the Son goes back first. We can also see that He obeys the leading of Holy Spirit in His whole life as He did exactly as the Father commanded Him.
5. Lord is the true vine
It says directly in John 15:1-4, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” Here, we can see one spiritual principle. Often in times, tribulations are pretended blessings for the purposes to bear more fruits. It is mentioned again about being united. And apparently if the branches are not connected to the vine, they will die soon or later. Thus, He said, “unless you abide in Me.”
We want to particularly emphasize the point that there is only one fruit of the Spirit since the fruit in Galatians 5:22-23 is singular. But such fruit has twelve kinds of characteristics. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
6. Being united by love and having brotherly love
“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”(John 15:9-15)
So, it comes with actions “If you keep My commandments, …”, and He is our example. We see that we need to be united in love, and love each other. He indeed died for us, died for friends. And “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”(Romans 5:8) We are called His friends. This is such honor! We indeed need to know our place.
7. Foreknowledge of the world hating Christians
“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.”(John 15:18-20)
Here He emphasized again that He chose the disciples out of the world, not the other way around. Indeed, He was nailed to the cross by the world, and we become slaves of righteousness like what was said in Romans 6:18, “and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” And a servant cannot be bigger than the master. We have to carry our own cross and follow Jesus. A Christian is to be conformed to the image of Jesus. By then, our words are but the same words with Jesus. Thus, “if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.” How cannot be?
Originally, I thought that there was no way to be conformed to the image of Jesus in this life, but indeed “… With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”(Matthew 19:26) The Bible records such an example about Stephen. “They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep.”(Acts 7:59-60) Stephen indeed fell sleep since Christians shall resurrect eventually, and live forever. Let us now take a look at what Jesus said when nailed to the cross. “But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” …”(Luke 23:34) Basically, they are the same. At least in this point, Stephen was conformed to the image of Jesus. We also see the glory Stephen received as stated in Acts 7:55-56, “But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”” In the New Testament, Stephen is the first one who was a martyr. There is only this once that Jesus is standing at the right hand of God to receive disciples. Normally, He was seated as mentioned in several places including Colossians 3:1, “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” The first disciple who is a martyr was James, which is after Stephen timewise.
We shall conclude our sharing with these verses. “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.'”(John 15:21-25)
(Verses refer to those in NASB unless otherwise specified.)
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