Ask Mr Bible

“And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.  Amen” (Rom. 16:20).

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14).
   
As one considers the unspeakable cruelty that human beings have imposed upon other human beings throughout recorded history (such as the holocaust, etc.), it may well seem these verses ring hollow indeed.  Did the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ really signify total victory over the devil?  If so, why is he allowed to continue his malicious and murderous reign over this earth?  Is Satan not aware that he is both a defeated and doomed foe?  On the surface, hard questions indeed!  However, an event at the end of World War II may help by way of illustration and application to answer these probing questions.

On August 6 and 9, 1945, the first two atomic bombs were dropped upon the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  In one blinding instant over 150,000 people perished.  Some were blown apart, others burned alive, still others crushed by fallen objects, and many were actually vaporized by the terrible heat.  However, a number of the survivors who may have escaped the initial blast perhaps without a single scratch or cut were, nevertheless, doomed to die in the near future by a frightful and (up to that time) unknown terror called radiation poisoning.  Stated another way, these poor people were, practically speaking, as dead as the original bomb victims.

What is being proposed here is that Satan was being subjected to a double and lethal dose of divinely induced spiritual radiation poisoning, with the first being administered on the cross and the second inside the tomb!

Thus, while the devil may, at present, appear and act as if he survived God’s wrath untroubled, he is, in reality, a doomed foe whose time is running out.

Martin Luther may well have had all this in mind when he wrote the third stanza of his great hymn, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.  Note the stirring words:

And tho’ this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph thru us.
The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him—His rage we  
Can endure, for lo, his doom is sure: One little word shall fell him.

Five reasons why the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is of supreme importance:

 It is the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights of the Christian faith.
  
 It emphasizes the absolute uniqueness and utter superiority of the Christian faith.  The founders of all other religions in human history eventually died.  But only the founder of Christianity (who also died) is
 alive and active today!  Thus, in one sense of the word, the empty tomb, not the cross, serves as the official sign of Christianity!

 It is the final side making up the divine triangle of salvation.  Thus:

  1. Jesus’ birth made it possible.
  2. Jesus’ death made it actual.
  3. Jesus’ resurrection made it certain.

 It serves as the official measurement of God’s power.  We are all aware of how man measures power, using such units as candle power, horse power, atomic power, etc., but how is divine power measured?  In
 the Scriptures there are two such standards of measurement.

  1. In the Old Testament it is the power God used in bringing Israel out of Egypt (Exod. 14:26-       31).

   Time and again, especially in the Psalms, this mighty event is referred to.  Note but a few references:

   “For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters … Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers” (Psa. 74:12, 13, 15).

   “Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea. Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known. He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness. And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left … Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red sea” (Psa. 106:7-11, 22).

  2. In the New Testament it is the power of God used in bringing Jesus out of the grave.

   “And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come” (Eph. 1:19-21).

  It is the focal point in regard to both salvation and the Scriptures.

  1. Regarding the salvation:
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain”  (1 Cor. 15:1, 2).

  2. Regarding the Scriptures:
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures”     (1 Cor. 15:3, 4).

A. It is the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights of the Christian faith.

B. It emphasizes the absolute uniqueness and utter superiority of the Christian faith. 

The founders of all other religions in human history eventually died.  But only the founder of Christianity (who also died) is alive and active today!  Thus, in one sense of the word, the empty tomb, not the cross, serves as the official sign of Christianity!

C. It is the final side making up the divine triangle of salvation. 

Thus:

1. Jesus’ birth made it possible.
2. Jesus’ death made it actual.
3. Jesus’ resurrection made it certain.

D. It serves as the official measurement of God’s power. 

We are all aware of how man measures power, using such units as candle power, horse power, atomic power, etc., but how is divine power measured?  In the scriptures there are two such standards of measurement.

1. In the Old Testament it is the power God used in bringing Israel out of Egypt.

 “And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore” (Exod. 14:26-31).

2. In the New Testament it is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 “And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:19, 20).

“Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice yielded up the ghost” (Matt. 27:50).

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost” (John 19:30).

These two English expressions, “yielded up” and “gave up” are from the same Greek phrase which could also be translated “to dismiss,” “to command to leave,” “to order a departure.”

What then, was the miracle of His death?  Simply this: By an act of sheer will, Jesus ordered His heart to stop beating, His blood to cease circulating, and His lungs to abstain from breathing.  We cannot accomplish this apart from the help of a gun, knife, poison, etc.  But the Savior commanded His physical life to end as easily as we might order our body to rise from a chair!

Thus, we see the supernatural involved concerning the three most important events in Jesus’ earthly life:

● He was born without the aid of a human father (Luke 1:30-35).
● He died by an act of the will.
● He was raised from the dead with a glorified body (Luke 24:33-40).

A very significant event transpired during that first Easter Sunday afternoon following the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Luke records this for us:

“And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem [about] threescore furlongs … And it came to pass, that, while they communed [together] and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them … And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24: 13, 15, 27).

Just what “things” did the Savior report?  It would have no doubt included the following:

 ● The offering up of Isaac (Gen. 22:1, 2, 10)

“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten [son], Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God [was] able to raise [him] up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure” (Heb. 11:17-19).

 ● The Passover Lamb

In Exod. 12, a lamb was taken and killed, then its blood was sprinkled upon the door post.  That blood then saved the life of the oldest child in that household.  The New Testament says that Christ has become our Passover (1 Cor. 5:7).

 ● The giving of manna (Exod. 16:14, 15)

  Jesus would later say:

“I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:48-51).

 ● The smitten Rock (Exod. 17: 5, 6)

  Moses recorded this event:

“And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel” (Exod. 17: 5, 6).

Paul explained its significance—

“And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ” (1 Cor. 10:4).

 ● The brazen serpent (Num. 21:5-9)
  
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:14-16).

Well, all these things happened to them in the past.  So how do they apply to us at the present hour?  In a word, Everything!  Note the following admonitions:

“Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” (1 Cor. 10:11).

“Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left [us] of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it … Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:1, 16).

“And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen” (Rom. 16:20).

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14).

As one considers the unspeakable cruelty that human beings have imposed upon other human beings throughout recorded history (such as the holocaust, etc.), it may well seem these verses ring hollow indeed.  Did the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ really signify total victory over the devil?  If so, why is he allowed to continue his malicious and murderous reign over this earth?  Is Satan not aware that he is both a defeated and doomed foe?  On the surface, hard questions indeed!  However, an event at the end of World War II may help by way of illustration and application to answer these probing questions.

On August 6 and 9, 1945, the first two atomic bombs were dropped upon the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  In one blinding instant over 150,000 people perished.  Some were blown apart, others burned alive, still others crushed by fallen objects, and many were actually vaporized by the terrible heat.  However, a number of the survivors who may have escaped the initial blast perhaps without a single scratch or cut were, nevertheless doomed to die in the near future by a frightful and (up to that time) unknown terror called radiation poisoning.  Stated another way, these poor people were, practically speaking, as dead as the original bomb victims.

What is being proposed here is that Satan was being subjected to a double and lethal dose of divinely induced spiritual radiation poisoning, with the first being administered on the cross and the second inside the tomb!

Thus, while the devil may at present appear and act as if he survived God’s wrath untroubled, he is, in reality, a doomed foe whose time is running out.

Martin Luther may well have had all this in mind when he wrote the third stanza of his great hymn, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.  Note the stirring words:

And tho this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph thru us.
The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him—His rage we
can endure, for lo, his doom is sure: One little word shall fell him.

I believe it can be safely assumed that if a lost person would suddenly decide to attend church during one given Sunday out of the year it would probably be Easter Sunday morning.

However, for that person (who might attend only to be seen, having no desire to accept Christ), resurrection Sunday would be the worst possible choice, for that Sunday serves as a warning of the future and frightful Great White Throne Judgment!

• Paul declared this judgment during his Mar’s Hill sermon:
“Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead (Acts 17:31).

• John later described this judgment:
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire  (Rev. 20:11, 12, 15).

And the lesson to be learned?
While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
(Heb. 3:15)

Historically speaking, He died on Friday (many believe), March 30, A.D. 33 at 3:00 P.M.

“Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost”

“And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost”

“And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost”

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost”

Theologically speaking, He died before the foundation of the world.

At least four New Testament passages bring this out:“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love … In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace”

“For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God”

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you”

(Eph. 1:4, 7). (Heb. 10:4-7).(1 Peter 1:18-20). (Matt. 27:50). (Mark 15:37). (Luke 23:46). (John 19:30).

“And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”

(Rev. 13:8).

Stated another way, in the mind and plan of God, the last Adam was already on the cross of Calvary before the first Adam was in the Garden of Eden!

The Power of His Resurrection and the Fellowship of His Sufferings

“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy” (1 Pet. 4:12, 13).

During my first semester at the Moody Bible Institute in 1952, I purchased a beautiful wall plaque which bore the imprint of Phil. 3:10:

 “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection.”

I was so proud of and inspired by the words on this sign.  It became the first object I looked at upon rising, and the last sight before retiring.  In fact, I had decided to make this passage my life’s verse.  One day a friend came in my room, saw the plaque, admired it, but informed me that the entire verse was not printed upon it.  Somewhat shocked, I hurriedly turned to look it up.  Upon discovering the entire message, I suddenly became less sure I wanted this verse as my life’s verse.  What I read was:

“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.”

You see, I had been tremendously inspired by the first part of the verse, but was definitely less excited about the second section.  I wanted the power of the resurrection without the fellowship of the sufferings, but this is impossible!  One simply cannot have the first apart from the second!