Category: signs miracles and wonders

Glory Days #5

Sunday, March 14, 2021

“For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody” (Isaiah 51:3 KJV).

Behold, the glory days—both past and future!

Today’s Scripture awaits the day when the LORD consoles Zion (Jerusalem). Not only has she suffered the terrible effects of the curse established in Genesis chapter 3, God has judged her for her people’s idolatry. Gentiles have entered her land, ravaging it with war and destruction. Her people have been taken away captive for their transgressions, their disobedience to the Old Covenant (Mosaic Law) punished. Read Leviticus 26:27-46.

“And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the LORD, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more: And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword” (Amos 7:8,9; Israel’s Assyrian Captivity). “In all your dwellingplaces the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished” (Ezekiel 6:6; Judah’s Babylonian Captivity a century later).

However, there is the hope of Israel’s restoration at Christ’s Second Coming: “Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God” (Isaiah 52:9,10). “And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in” (Isaiah 58:12).

Earth’s former glory days—the Garden of Eden—will return. When the Lord comes back, the planet will revert to pre-Fall conditions….

Glory Days #4

Saturday, March 13, 2021

“For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody” (Isaiah 51:3 KJV).

Behold, the glory days—both past and future!

Chapter 35 of Isaiah, describing Israel’s Messiah arriving: “[1] The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. [2] It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God. [3] Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. [4] Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.

“[5] Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. [6] Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. [7] And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. [8] And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. [9] No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: [10] And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

Verses 5 and 6 correspond to Jesus’ healing miracles during His earthly ministry (cf. Matthew 11:2-6). Isaiah also foresees His Second Coming in wrath and glory, judgment and reign. Christ’s return brings major spiritual and geographical changes….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What was wrong with Moses’ speech?”

Impetuous Peter! #11

Sunday, February 28, 2021

“And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid” (Mark 9:5,6 KJV).

When in doubt, close your mouth!

After wasting their time “fishing in the flesh” and catching nothing, the Apostles meet the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. John chapter 21 informs us they do not recognize Him as He stands on the shore. However, once He directs them to throw their net on the right side, and they catch a multitude of fishes, they suddenly realize who He is! Dragging their heavy net to land, they meet and eat with Him.

“[14] This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. [15] So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. [16] He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. [17] He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.”

The Lord asked Peter once (verse 15), “Lovest thou me more than these [fish]?” Peter replied in the affirmative; Jesus responded, “Feed my lambs.” Christ asked a second time (verse 16); Peter answered with a “yes.” Jesus again ordered Him, “Feed my sheep.” Christ questioned Peter a third time (verse 17), “Lovest thou me?” Peter—“grieved,” saddened or distressed—blurts out his tenth silly comment: “Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.” Instead of expressing annoyance, Peter should have shown gratitude for the Lord’s threefold questioning that nullified his thrice denial during His trial….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “How could Jesus eat the Passover meal if He were already dead?”

Wonderful Things!

Saturday, February 13, 2021

“And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased, And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?” (Matthew 21:14-16 KJV).

The Lord Jesus has just a few days left to live, and He is doing some “wonderful things….”

In “the city of the great King” (Matthew 5:35; Psalm 48:2), the place from which the LORD’S Word should have flowed to the nations (Isaiah 2:3), Herod’s Temple Complex characterized spiritual ignorance and unbelief. To highlight Israel’s condition in conjunction with her Temple—the hub of her false religion—we find in today’s Scripture “the blind and the lame.” Nationally speaking, the Jews can neither see with spiritual eyes nor walk with spiritual legs. God admonished, “Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see” (Isaiah 42:18). The Prophet confessed, “Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets” (Daniel 9:10).

Foreseeing Israel’s national sight restored at Christ’s Second Coming, the Prophet penned, “And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness” (Isaiah 29:18). JEHOVAH God promised Israel in that day, “And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27). To prove He was Israel’s Messiah, Jesus performed the miracles of today’s Scripture: “…your God will come… he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart…” (Isaiah 35:4-6).

What will be more marvelous than the physically blind seeing and the lame walking in the Temple, is Israel—long dead, blind, crippled, and cast away—will see and walk again in the Earth! Hallelujah!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Can you explain, ‘We are in the world but not of the world?’”

Three Requests #4

Saturday, November 7, 2020

“And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not” (Luke 8:27,28 KJV).

There are three pleadings in this context. With which one should we align ourselves?

We read the concluding verses: “[38] Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying, [39] Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.” Here is the third and final pleading. Formerly possessed with devils (one of his numerous problems), he asks the Lord Jesus if he can accompany Him back to Galilee. This is in stark contrast to his neighbors who have requested Jesus leave their area (cf. verse 37).

Those Jews living east of the Sea of Galilee were reckless in rejecting Christ. However, there was a believer who saw great value in God’s Son. It was the very man who had been delivered from a most pathetic existence. He knew firsthand there was complete victory in Jesus. “Lord, if they are sending You away, please let me come too!” Christ forbids him. Instead, he is advised to stay: “Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee.” He is to remain there to share his testimony with others—and he does. “And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.” To wit, “Listen to what the Son of God in His grace did for me! He saved me from a worthless life that glorified Satan!”

Brethren, while we may long to be with Christ in Heaven, still a fourth beseeching, a far greater (!) beseeching, is, “Lord, let me stay here on Earth, that I may tell others what You in Your grace did for me!” 🙂

Three Requests #3

Friday, November 6, 2020

“And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not” (Luke 8:27,28 KJV).

There are three pleadings in this context. With which one should we align ourselves?

Luke reports: “[33] Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked. [34] When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country. [35] Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. [36] They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed. [37] Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again.”

After Jesus permitted the unclean spirits to possess the herd of nearby pigs, the swine drowned themselves. The onlookers entered the city and relayed the news to neighbors. Instead of rejoicing that the Saviour was present, their materialism (unbelief) caused them to beg Him to leave. “Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them” (verse 37a). The Lord Jesus was a threat to their business of raising swine, an animal the Law of Moses considered “unclean” for the Jews (Leviticus 11:7,8). Verily, verily, they were foolish to prefer their “old life” as opposed to praising the Lord that He had come to deliver them from Satan and sin.

“Lord, please go away!” We should avoid this type of beseeching. The final instance of entreating in this chapter is the wisest of requests….

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Three Requests #2

Thursday, November 5, 2020

“And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not” (Luke 8:27,28 KJV).

There are three pleadings in this context. With which one should we align ourselves?

Continue at verse 35 for the second pleading: “[35] Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. [36] They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed. [37] Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again.”

Here is the third imploring: “[38] Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying, [39] Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.” Now, we expound what has transpired concerning this miracle.

Christ, on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, in the area of the Gadarenes, encounters a man possessed with myriads of devils and living in tombs. The leading evil spirit begs Jesus not to punish him—that is, banish him and his fellow unclean spirits to Hell. “I beseech thee, torment me not…. And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep” (verses 28,31). Here is the first pleading. While we sinners would also be wise in asking God not to punish us with eternal judgment, there is a better kind of longing than endeavoring to escape a deserved penalty….

Three Requests #1

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

“And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not” (Luke 8:27,28 KJV).

There are three pleadings in this context. With which one should we align ourselves?

Let us start reading the passage in its setting: “[26] And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. [27] And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. [28] When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. [29] (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)

“[30] And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. [31] And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. [32] And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. [33] Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked. [34] When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country.”

Having read the first request from one party, now we get to the second request from another party….

Throwing Them Out! #4

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

“And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying” (Mark 5:40 KJV).

Why did Jesus throw these people out?

Jairus’ child, his “one only daughter,” was 12 years old (Mark 5:42; Luke 8:42). Any skilled student of Scripture will immediately recall 12 in the Bible is Israel’s number. Remember, did not Jacob have 12 sons who became the nation Israel? Were not those 12 men the fathers and heads of the 12 tribes of Israel? Does not Israel have 12 Apostles—one to reign over each tribe in the ages to come? Yes! Yes! Yes!

“And he [the LORD God] gave him [Abraham] the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs” (Acts 7:8). After dying Jacob blessed his 12 sons, the Bible says, “All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them” (Genesis 49:28). “And Jesus said unto them [the 12 Apostles], Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging [ruling] the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28).

Jairus’ daughter is in the process of dying. God’s Son is en route to heal her, but a delay causes Him to be “too late” and, tragically, she passes away! Here is national Israel, spiritually and functionally dead. God’s daughter is expired! The Lord Jesus comes to the house, and, entering the room, sees and hears the grievers. Today’s Scripture again, “And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.” Jesus argues, paraphrased, “The girl’s condition is not permanent. While her spirit has left her body, this is temporary, like a sleeping state. She will live again!” Lacking faith, however, His audience finds this comical. “Surely, she is hopelessly dead, never coming back!” Upon their chuckling, Jesus drives them out. They will not see Israel’s resurrection….

Throwing Them Out! #3

Monday, September 14, 2020

“And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying” (Mark 5:40 KJV).

Why did Jesus throw these people out?

Never should we forget that, when the Lord was performing miracles, the purpose was much more than simply to excite people or rescue them from difficulties. Chiefly, most importantly, “the Jews require a sign” (1 Corinthians 1:22). A miracle in Scripture is for Israel’s benefit, designed to signify or communicate a particular doctrine or teaching.

For example, recall when JEHOVAH God commissioned Moses to return to the Israelites enslaved in Egypt. The Bible reports in Exodus 4:1: “And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.” God then endowed Moses with miraculous power to authenticate his ministry and message. His rod could transform into a snake, he was able to heal leprosy (skin disease), and he could turn the river’s water into blood (verses 2-9). “And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed…” (verses 30,31). “Signs” belong to Israel, for they are Israel’s national birthright (cf. Psalm 74:9). The same is true concerning Christ’s earthly ministry.

Let us consider Luke 8:1, “…[Jesus] went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,….” Not only did Christ preach, He validated those words with miraculous deeds: He “preached” and “shewed” the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. “Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe” (John 4:48). The last verse of Mark notes: “And they [the 12 Apostles] went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”

With all that said, why did the Lord raise Jairus’ little daughter from the dead? He was authenticating His message. The key is to remember the girl’s age, and all will be clear….