Vindication - The Fruit of Perseverance

Esther 6:11
So Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, “This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!”

Revelation 12:10
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.

With recent current events in the United States, we are witnessing - what I believe to be - a season of vindication for people of a particular political persuasion, and especially its current leader.

But what is Jesus teaching us?

Mordecai had been among the original Jewish exiles from Jerusalem. I think it can be inferred that he had seen his cousins die at some point during that time, because he had ended up caring for his cousins' daughter Esther. (Esther 2:7) It had definitely been a hard slog, but they were getting along, as it were. They were not slaves, but it can be assumed that they were second-class citizens who kept their identity as Jews hidden lest they face persecution. (Esther 2:20)

In the middle of it all, he had to witness his niece get conscripted to become the wife of a king who did not live according to his peoples' ways. This is not what I would call the most romantic of circumstances. (Esther 2) In addition, he "offended" someone by standing strong for his convictions, even though it was politically incorrect to do so. (Esther 3:1-5; Note that I am putting this in contemporary terms to bring it to bear with today's cultural language.)

Yet in the end, Mordecai and his entire race were vindicated multiple times throughout the rest of the book. At some point, they only had to stand back witness the destruction of those who had meant to harm them. (Psalm 91:8) What can be learned of this?

• Vindication comes through no special effort of our own will; we simply proceed with our lives as we believe our Father calls us to.

Mordecai was simply doing what he had been brought up to do - in this case it was to obey the first two commandments. (Exodus 20:3,4) Live your life as Jesus calls us to live it. Let the chips fall where they may. Our life is under His Lordship, and it is not our own.

• When opportunity presents itself for vindication then take it, in spite of the risk. (Esther 4:12-5:7)

There will come pivotal moments when you have the opportunity to bring the truth to bear. Be careful and shrewd, but beware, it could be risky. Don't be a "karen", but at the same time be willing to bring the truth to the light. True, there could be repercussions. But bringing truth into the light is never a bad thing.

• Celebrate when it comes, but do not gloat.
  

The Father hates a haughty attitude, and so he calls us to not look over our enemies with a haughty, or smug, heart. (Proverbs 6:16-19; Psalm 101:5) The vindication is not complete, but as it unfolds, do not gloat. Don't do it! 

However, He does love His children to party when truth is revealed. (1 Corinthians 13:6) Purim is still celebrated to this day in remembrance of the vindication of the Jews in the book of Esther. Remember, even treasure when the Lord vindicates you in the face of your enemies.

I'm sure there are plenty of lessons to be learned about vindication both through this book and through His hand at work before our eyes. These are presenting themselves to me these days. Is He teaching anything to you through this?

Make our eyes big, and our ears bigger, Lord!

Jahweh's Creativity and Passion

 

The love of God for humanity is great.  No one who believes on His Son can dare to dispute this fact.  Yet I am freshly captivated in the ways He expresses this love - especially through Jesus.

Our Father could have rescued us just by speaking the word "be saved", and it would be done.  He could have reconciled us to Him through by whatever means He chose.

Instead, He chose to paint a masterpiece, and His Son was the brush through which He painted that picture.  First in prophecy, then in walking it out through the birth of Jesus - Messiah and Saviour of all who will believe.

Today and tomorrow - on Christmas Eve and Christmas day, we choose to honor the day of the unveiling of this plan in the form of the infant Son.  No one knows for certain the actual day of that birth.  History did not record the birth of those born into poverty.  But a day should absolutely be set aside to honor the birth of this One who is the embodiment of the Son of God.

Merry Christmas to all!  Peace on earth!  Good will to all men!

Valley of Vision

 

Isaiah 22

have you seen Me yet in the Valley of Vision

do you understand upon the land

while destruction remains, yet

far away from your slain

waiting on the roof

do you see beyond the root

the time is drawing near, here

in the Valley of Decision

the cedars have been felled

your wells have all run dry

why are you confused, still

in the Valley of Vision

come now, dig your nails 

reason with My wound

find your vision in 

the Valley of Decision

you will fear no longer evil

in the Valley of Death's Shadow

inscribed within My hand

in the Valley of Vision

in the Breath upon your wing

feel the course of life again

fly away, far away

from the Valley of Division

for your home will be My own

where the fields are green and free

harvest wonders every day, here

in the Valley - the Valley of Vision

- revel8r, 9/12/21

Who Will Be in the Splash Zone?

When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”  Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

- Matthew 27:54-56 -

Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.  Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

- Matthew 27:58-61 -

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.  There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.  His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.  The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.  The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.  Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” 

- Matthew 28:1-7 -

In these verses, it was a particular group of women who were a) witnesses of His death, b) witness of His burial and c) witness of His resurrection.  Can you imagine what they were going through?  The one the had not only followed, but had also "cared for His needs" was suddenly dying right before their eyes!  The one they had attended to, followed, dare I say deeply loved was being buried before their eyes.

Jesus had asked His disciples once, if they could drink from the same cup that He will drink. (Matthew 20:22)  Indeed they would eventually, but in these hours this group were coming about as close as humanly possible to walking through what He was walking through - drinking from the same cup that He was drinking.

But I submit that it wasn't necessarily because of any virtue of their own.  I submit that their hearts had grown so close to Jesus that they couldn't tear themselves away.  But because of this passion, even compulsion of theirs, they were the first people in all of human history to witness the resurrection of the King and Creator of the Universe.  Jesus Christ the Savior of all souls who will surrender to Him!

Let that sink in.  Selah, as they say.  Imagine having the distinction of being the first to witness the resurrection of Jesus!

But they were also among the few who had the distinction having watched Him die and be buried.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said in his "I've been to the Mountaintop" sermon, "But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars."

If we want to be part of the glorious wonders of the Morning Star, we must be ready to walk through the "Dark Night of the Soul".

The question is put to each and every one of us: Are you ready?  For it's with trepidation and excitement that the time is imminent that the time is soon upon us.

Sovereignty of the Human Soul and the United States of America

 

When God created the heavens and the earth, He set in place the Garden of Eden.  In that garden he placed two human beings – one male and one female.  In that garden He also placed two trees one brought death and the other brought life.  And He told them not to eat from the tree of knowing good and evil.  By that very act – the creation of the tree and the advisement not to eat from it – He gave them a gift: the gift of sovereignty over their own destiny.  But He also gave them the gift of this advice: Not to eat from the tree of knowing good and evil.  It was advice to maintain, even be jealous over their own innocence – innocence to know only good.  Innocence to know only the goodness of life.

Sovereignty over our own destiny is at the very core of defining the word Freedom.  Control is the antithesis of Freedom.  Rules that facilitate and shepherd sovereignty are meant to be the guardrails of Freedom - enablers for all to choose their own destiny.  Control crushes Freedom.  Sadly our history is fraught with humans who have sought and achieved control over vast multitudes.  From the Jewish slaves of Egypt to the Conquistadors of South America.  From the Nazis of Germany to the many forced re-locations of Natives Americans.  From the Pharisees of the Jewish elite to the Inquisitions of Roman Catholicism.  From global human trafficking and slavery to Islamic oppression in the east.  The list is far from exhaustive, for human history is replete with our lust for denying others the God-given gift of exercising sovereignty over our own destiny.

But to quote Bob Dylan, “Ya gotta serve somebody”.  There's no getting around it.  There is only one God, and He alone can be served.  All others are counterfeits.  Forgeries.  Impostors.  Posers.  In the end all are either serving the darkness or Jahweh – the Ancient of Days.  Creator of all.  King of all kings.  Freedom also lies in the sovereignty to choose which one to serve.  

The United States Declaration of Independence and their Constitution, at its bedrock is a framework to enforce the freedom that God – not man – had willfully given us: the freedom for individuals and a nation to determine our own destiny.  From the country's inception, the question was then laid before her: “Where will her destiny end – to serve God, or to serve darkness?”

On the back of the President of the Continental Convention's chair, there is a carving of a sun hovering halfway above the horizon.  James Madison reported Benjamin Franklin as saying upon the final day of the signing of the Declaration of Independence: “I have often looked at that behind the president without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now I... know that it is a rising...sun.”  I wonder if Mr. Franklin overstepped himself by answering the question; maybe the question and answer should have been reworded instead “I have often looked at that behind the president without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting.  But at least now we have declared that it is up to us to decide.”

Every day, the question has always hung and still hangs over us as a nation.  “Is that sun rising or setting?

In many ways our nation is progressively and sadly devolving into the book of Judges, where everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes (Judges 17:6, 21:25).   We are sadly, progressively and rapidly growing further away from choosing God's ways and serving the darkness instead.  As a result, we are sadly, progressively and rapidly answering the question.  I leave it to the reader to figure out whether the sun is rising or setting on this nation.  We do not want that answer.

We to not want that answer, but if that's what compels people to turn to Jahweh, then let it be!

But there still the bloody red thread
of the line of the Lamb will remain
'til He establish His reign

Be counted in that lineage!  Let us be the ones who are ready to receive those people who turn in amazing, joyous numbers to serve and worship the Creator of all.

The Chain of Custody and the Chains that Were Broken

 

As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

- Matthew 27:57-61 -

Make no mistake.  The events that took place immediately after Jesus' death are historical.  They are the legal evidence of the day.  These are the witnesses of the day.  There were no other types of recordings other than eyewitness accounts.  No videos, no photographs, no voice recordings.  All that was available was the testimony of those who were there to see the event.  And if anyone wanted to talk to them to confirm what had occurred, they were quite possibly still alive when the written account of Matthew was "published", per se.

Who were these eyewitnesses?  In these verses we have Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joses.  In the rest of the chapter, the witnesses include many women (v. 55), Roman guards (v. 54) and chief priests and elders (v. 41).  (The thieves that were crucified with Jesus were, of course, not available for a chat.)

The Gospel of Matthew is very dry and matter-of-fact about these accounts, but he was, after all a former tax collector whose chief skill is documenting accounts.  Therefore, it seems obvious to follow that he was making an account of this event to ensure that Jesus' death was clearly and legally documented.  Many to this day continue to refute the fact regardless of the legal evidence of the day.

But the prophetic significance of the witnesses in these verses must not be lost.  To understand the significance of Joseph of Arimathea putting Jesus' body in his own new tomb, we go to Isaiah 53:9.  "He was assigned a graves with the wicked and with the rich in His death."  This highlights the fact that Jesus' atoning sacrifice was for all - not only for the wicked, but also for the rich; not only for the rich, but also for the wicked.

As to the witness of the women, there is no old testament prophetic reference.  But there is an inference that the women who were involved in Jesus' life were also significant in His death.  Their status in the Kingdom was, in a word, promoted.  Indeed, the barrier between life and death was not the only thing that had been shattered, but many other curses as well.  In this case, the curse of women being subservient to men, as had been judged by Jahweh in Genesis 3:16.  Indeed Paul also recognized this in Galatians 3:28.

It is impossible to diminish the significance of the event of the cross.  By the event of the cross, I am meaning that we must include Jesus' resurrection.  It is a real event.  But more than this, what was witnessed had a reverberating impact in unseen realms, removing the delineations of time, space, matter and energy.  And, of course, removing all social delineations.  The spiritual aerodynamics, so to speak, have changed with those three days in which the proverbial sound barrier was forever broken.

Learn to fly in this new way!

The Cosmic Crux

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

- Matthew 27:50 -

All the beatings, mockery and false accusations of the previous 24 hours.  All the rebellion, derision and sin of all the ages culminated in this moment.  A sacrifice for all humanity.  A sacrifice for each soul that has or ever will be.

Jesus Himself was on the event horizon of doubt in verse 46, channeling (per se) the first verse of Psalm 22.  And yet in His most desperate hour, the Father sends someone from among the mockers to tend to His needs and let Jesus know that He had not forsaken Him.

In His greatest weakness, Jesus was revealing the height of His perfect strength (2 Corinthians 12:9).  So then, when His body released His spirit a chain of events released a dissembling of all that made natural sense.  The curtain of the temple ripped apart, an earthquake suddenly shook the land, and many holy people rose from the dead (vv. 51-53).

It's no wonder, for the Creator of all that is seen and unseen - the One who had always held all things together (Colossians 1:16-17) - had just completed the ultimate intent of Yahweh. It was an ultimate intent that all eternity hinged upon.  It was, quite literally, the spiritual Big Bang upon which all events past, present and future reference their existence.

Instead of sinking into the event horizon of doubt, Jesus had plunged headlong into the event horizon of reality.

And we are the grateful benefactors.