Who Art Thou, Lord?: The Good News Jesus Preached

By Charles Van Divier Darnell

The apostle Pauls experience was real. The blinding light and the voice confronting him with the question, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? His response is the same question we should be asking, Who art thou, Lord? Paul thought he knew God, but he didnt. God wants us to ask this same important question. God has revealed Himself in the Scripture through His Son, Jesus, the light of the world. It is the Gospel, the good news, of Jesuss ministry, the truth about God. It is the substance of our faith in Him, our salvation, and the subject of this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 13, 2013
• ISBN: 9781479794300

Charles Van Divier Darnell

The author began his working life as a paperboy at the age of eleven, worked odd jobs, joined the air force, worked for a phone company, received a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and cellular biology, and received a master’s and a doctorate in health sciences. He has worked as a health counselor, joined the army (at the age of thirty-nine) and started the army’s Occupational Health Education Program, taught for a short time in a university, and taught chemistry and earth sciences in two high schools. Through many twists and turns, he has been guided along one constant path, that is, to learn about his Creator, whom he values most.

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Charles Van Divier Darnell

Copyright © 2013 by Charles Van Divier Darnell.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 05/09/2013

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Contents

1 The Great Gospel Commission

2 Did We Miss Something?

3 God Breathes Life

4 What Are We Doing?

5 Nature’s Truth

6 Spiritual Truth

7 Old Dogs, New Tricks

8 Jesus Lights the Darkness

9 Jesus Is Dying to Tell Us Good News

10 The Old, Old News

11 Satan Makes God Look Mean

12 Missing the Mark

13 Fixing What’s Broken

14 What on Earth Motivates God?

15 The Trial of the Ages

16 Here I AM, Send Me

17 It’s in the Name

18 News from Home

19 Neither Do I Condemn Thee

20 I Have It Covered

21 Detour or the Only Road?

22 But, We’re Making Good Time

23 Are We There Yet? Are We There Yet?

24 Watching For the Signs

25 Power of Attorney

26 Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

27 The Call to Witness

28 Is God Losing His Patience?

29 One Last Time

30 Satan Changes His Tactics

31 The Whole World?

32 Summoned to Witness

33 Close Is Not Enough

34 The Gospel Distilled

35 What Should We Do Now?

F o r the Reader

Dedication:

To those who have preserved the biblical record, thank you…

Thank you anyone and everyone who has participated, in cooperation with God, in the writing and preservation of the collection of books we know as the Bible. It is a debt that will take an eternity to express.

I also wish to thank all the scholars who have spent an untold amount of time researching, dissecting, and analyzing words and phrases so we, the common people, may grasp, as closely as possible, the original intent of the biblical authors’ words.

I wish to thank everyone who has written commentaries on the Bible and whose works I have consulted in my own quest to understand the meaning of the precious words of Scripture. I know I stand on their shoulders.

I may not always agree with these writers’ interpretations, but their insights into the facts of Scripture are of great value to me in my research. I am confident that they too shared the same goal as I—to know the truth about our Creator.

I wish to thank those who have challenged me to explain in simple language what the Bible is saying. It is by their questions and fertile discussions that I have been able to grasp deeper meanings in the Word. And I wish to thank anyone who forgives any error I may have committed in this book; any deviation from the truth about God is certainly not my intention.

I know God created me with one word impressed on my mind, and, I suspect, was the first word I spoke—the word why. Actually I remember saying as a young boy, Howcomzit? It undoubtedly frustrated many of my family, friends, and teachers; and I apologize for any inconvenience or irritation this may have inflicted on them because of my persistence and ignorance. It is the question why that directed me into the science field and also drives me on to discover God’s truth revealed in scripture, and it is the motive that rewards me with the occasional epiphany, causing me to jump up in my chair several inches and exclaim, Wow!

I wish to thank God for His patience and guidance during my life in leading me to grasp, I know only in part, a larger understanding of His good news.

But most of all, I wish to thank God for who He is and His desire to have us know, appreciate, and value His gracious character and His management of His kingdom.

This book is dedicated to my Mentor, my heavenly Father, who, by the truth, sets free those who choose to listen to the truth about Him.

I trust Him because, like the Apostle Paul, I am on a quest to know the answer to the question:

Who art thou, Lord? (Acts 9:5)

Author’s perspective:

I grew up in a very small community in the Mojave Desert in California in the 1940s and ‘50s. My family attended a small community church. I was very shy, but I often got on the Sunday school bus without putting up too much fuss. Actually, I kind of liked it. My mother would come for church, and often I would stay and sit beside her on the hard wooden pew impressed with the solemnity of the service, listening to the music and pastor. My parents were divorced prior to my freshman year of high school, and I lived with my father during my last two and a half years of high school (he died January of my senior year). I joined the church youth group and sang in the youth choir but mostly stayed out of the way because of my shyness. I guess I expressed the desire to go to a weeklong, nondenominational church camp, Forest Home, where a number of youth attended every year. It cost $40. I didn’t have the money. An older lady—I think she didn’t have any children—sponsored me for two summers. I wasn’t supposed to know who it was, but I found out many years later after she passed away. I have since forgotten her name, but her kindness is indelibly etched in my mind.

I don’t have too many specific memories from church camp, but there are two memories that stand out in my mind. One memory is of a nightly, spontaneous gathering of about twenty to thirty young people standing around an upright piano in a back corner of the dining hall, singing gospel songs for several hours. I was surrounded by strangers, but we were friends of God; that made them my friends too. My shyness seemed to take a backseat. The dining hall was supposed to close at ten o’clock each evening. The staff attempted to shoo us away, but we didn’t go; we sang on. They were quite tolerant. They knew to whom we sang. There were two girls who were very talented pianists. They didn’t know each other prior to this, and they often both played the one piano simultaneously as though they were somehow connected… I was in heaven. We stayed well past closing time. The staff turned off the lights. We turned on our flashlights. We stayed and we sang. One night about eleven o’clock, I looked behind us, and there was the staff singing along.

Another memory at church camp is the Greek bowl experience. All the campers were gathered together, and each was given a small twig as we filed into the open-air bowl, where a fire pit had a small fire ablaze. We were seated in the bowl. The camp custom was for each person to come down to the fire pit and say a few words about his or her conversion experience and throw their stick into the fire. My friends complied. I sat in shyness, but really, I had nothing to say. The stories rambled on and on. There were confessions of drugs, theft, rebellion, cursing, hate, revenge, and so on. These were major sinners who were miraculously saved! I didn’t feel comfortable. Something seemed out of place. Later, I came to realize what bothered me most was the emphasis on self. It was more about themselves than of God. I should have told them about God, but I didn’t know much. All I knew, looking back, was I was just getting to know Him. I still have no dramatic story of conversion. But those experiences of church camp were crucial in my journey to know God, and I thank His servants, the dining-hall staff, who allowed me to enjoy a small slice of heaven around the piano, and especially that kind lady who paid my way to camp and made this possible.

As I grew up I became more interested in reading the Bible. I had many questions and some of the answers my teachers offered didn’t make sense to me, especially in conjunction with other biblical texts. When I ran across the following text it set my mind to working for many years.

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? . . . But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Matthew 6:24-25, 33-34; bold added)

The message I was hearing from others was, Jesus paid the price. Get ready. Accept Jesus because he’s coming soon. Don’t get left behind. Again the focus was on me, something I wasn’t quite comfortable with and seemed contrary to the above texts. I had difficulty perceiving God as having to bribe His children to want to come home. As I read further, I came to the realization that the commonly understood message focused on my salvation was not the message Jesus brought to us. Jesus said, Take no thought for your life… but seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness… I began to grasp the idea that Jesus had a significantly greater message for us. As I studied the Gospel of John, chapter 8 began to have more impact on my thinking.

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, [then] are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:31-32)

How could we be free and yet have a Master? This puzzled me. But I began to see that Jesus seemed to focus on the truth about his Father in heaven. Chapter 17 of the Gospel of John came home to me.

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. (John 17:3-4; bold added)

As my life and experiences took many turns and twists, I continued to dwell on this new revelation. I became convinced that Jesus’s message of personal salvation was contingent on his primary message—his words of the character and kingdom of the Father—without which there was no salvation. The good news is about the Father and, only peripherally, about the reward for the faithful, which Jesus brings when he returns to earth. What one believes about the Father determines the result. My world was turned upside down. I had to rethink everything, putting God, The Father, first. The news about him is the good news, even if I was lost (which I would consider to be really bad news).

This good news, which Jesus brought from the throne of the Father in heaven, is the subject of this book. This good news about the Father is the subject of all of Scripture and God’s answer to Saul’s question:

Who art thou, Lord? (Acts 9:5)

Book Format:

Many biblical passages are quoted in this book and many more are referenced. Those passages that were simply referenced are very important, and the author encourages the reader to look up these passages in one or more versions of the Bible as he reads this book.

All scriptural quotes are from the 1769 King James Version (KJV) also known as the Authorized Version, unless otherwise noted. Other versions quoted are the Good New Bible (GNB), International Standard Version (ISV), and the Modern King James Version (MKJV). Many versions were also consulted in the writing of this book.

Translators of the King James Version added some words or phrases that are not contained in the original Hebrew or Greek texts. These words or phrases are indicated by this author by placing the bracketed addition all in italics (e.g. [addition]). Any information contained in biblical citations added by this author is identified using brackets and identified as such along with the biblical citation.

Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries, (Strong, STD, LLD 1890) was heavily relied on in determining the meaning of biblical words and phrases. Also used was The Hebrew Old Testament with Strong’s numbers. This is the unpointed Tanach from the Masoretic text with embedded Strong’s Numbers. (Tanach is a Hebrew acronym for Torah (Law), Neviim (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings), the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible.) Brown-Driver-Briggs’ Hebrew Definitions and Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT) (Harris et al.) were also used.

The meaning of Greek words was determined by the careful use of THE GREEK NEW TESTAMENT: The Greek Text edited by Maurice A. Robinson and William G. Pierpont in conjunction with the TEXTUS RECEPTUS: The Greek New Testament. Both of these sources have Strong’s numbers as well.

Wherever possible the primary meaning in the original language was used rather than the meaning often given by the translators of the King James Version. Specific sources are not often cited, as this author used many sources to reach a consensus of the meaning of a word or phrase. In addition, this book is not intended to be a scholarly treatise but to be easily read and useful to all who are in search of God.

The purpose of this book is to investigate scriptural evidence pertaining to the profound question, Who art thou, Lord? (Acts 9:5). The answer to this important question is found in the answer to a related question, "What, specifically, is the Gospel that Jesus preached?" Several premises will be made initially, which, as I proceed with this investigation, will be supported with scriptural evidence, giving greater confidence to their validity.

These initial premises are:

• God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent.

• God gave genuine freedom to each of His intelligent beings insuring he is free to choose his own master.

• Freedom each person has in choosing whom he will serve is not controlled by God’s foreknowledge.

• Jesus is 100% God, and he came to this planet as a human being (100%), where he chose to not use his divine power for his own benefit.

• God reveals Himself in Scripture; He has told us everything we need to know in order to make an intelligent choice of whom we choose to serve.

• God has revealed sufficient evidence in Scripture so we don’t have to make any premises regarding His feelings or His motives for His behavior.

Understanding the meaning of the Gospel, the good news that Jesus brought to us must be examined in the context of other questions, such as,

• What is the true nature of the original problem, sin?

• Why didn’t God prevent sin or end sin when it first reared its ugly head?

• What was Jesus’s mission when he came to this planet as a man?

• Why did Jesus have to die?

• Why has it taken so long for Jesus to come back, and he still has not returned?

• What is the specific nature of the Gospel, the good news Jesus brought to us?

• What does our theology ultimately say about God and His kingdom?

• What are we supposed to be doing in the meantime?

This author attempts to incorporate many aspects of what appears to be numerous biblical threads randomly running through the six thousand years or so of human history (assuming Ussher’s chronology is correct), a goal not easily accomplished in a sequential, logical format conducive to chapters. Instead, this author uses a spiral methodology in the attempt to unfold and integrate these seemingly unconnected yet colorful threads into a more complete picture, a rich tapestry depicting God’s kingdom. (The truths of Scripture were not revealed in a simple, logical, or sequential manner as we might understand this process.)

Frequently ideas are repeated in this book in a slightly different context in order to understand how they fit into a larger and more detailed picture developed by the horizontal and vertical threads of this tapestry. Only when we understand the true meaning of the Gospel (the good news) in the largest context possible, are we able to really begin to understand the great Gospel commission of Matthew 24:14 and 28:19-20. And then we will be able to become more effective witnesses for God as He unfolds His plan to end sin in the universe for eternity.

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C hapter 1

The Great Gospel Commission

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:16-20)

F ollowers of Jesus take his great Gospel commission very seriously, as it was his last instructions to them just before he ascended into heaven after his resurrection (see also Mark 16:15-16).

Jesus said, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. This means his power extends throughout the entire universe. The Greek word exousia, translated as power, would better be translated into English as authority or jurisdiction. But still, authority to do what and where?

There is a curious leap in logic in this passage. Jesus states that he has all power in heaven and in earth and then commands the disciples to go to all nations, to teach, and to baptize. If he has all power, why doesn’t he do it? And he asks his disciples to do all this without giving them the power to do so. What power was given to Jesus? And what power would the disciples have that would allow them to accomplish this mission?

Perhaps if we understood what Jesus did while he was on earth it would help us discover answers to these questions. The passage above declares that whatever Jesus did, he did it in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. But what is it that Jesus did? And what is it that the disciples were asked to do?

The most obvious facts revealed in the New Testament are that Jesus healed people of many physical ailments, and he taught them. Perhaps it would help us to understand if we could identify just why Jesus healed them and what it was that he taught.

It was all things. All things? Jesus wants us to teach and observe all things, whatsoever he commanded us? Now that is a tall order.

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. (John 21:25)

So, why weren’t all these things written down? Perhaps there is already sufficient evidence contained in the scriptures that firmly supports the really important message Jesus delivered to us in person. Jesus had already stated his commission to us in slightly different words just before he was crucified, which suggested there were several conditions associated with the Gospel that must be accomplished prior to his return.

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew 24:14)

Of course, Jesus wanted his disciples to preach the Gospel. We all know that! But what is the Gospel? Everybody knows what that is… don’t we? I have kept my eyes and ears open for years on this subject, and precious few have specifically used Jesus’s words to actually offer a consistent, clear definition of the Gospel. We are usually left to our own interpretations for the meaning of the Gospel message. With so many interpretations, is it really true that the good news is whatever anyone wants it to be? We even say, in our Christian concern not to be judgmental, The Gospel means different things to different people. Is that what Jesus said? Would Jesus’s words be so confusing in regard to such an important instruction?

Many of Jesus’s followers declare with some certainty that the Gospel is Jesus’s soon return to this earth with a reward for the righteous. Given the degraded state of this world, this certainly sounds like good news.

Because of the belief in his imminent return, God’s people frequently believe they have been charged with the task of announcing his soon return. This is illustrated by a church marquee that I pass by frequently and reads, "Warning! Get Ready to Meet Your Maker." I saw another marquee in Hollywood some time ago, which said, "Jesus Is Coming Soon! Clean Up Your Act."

There have been many predictions of the end of the world. Dates have been set countless times, but they have come and passed. Persons making such predictions were sincere in their beliefs, but the obvious fact is they were sincerely mistaken.

While Jesus’s return is an event of tremendous importance, the question remains, is Jesus’s return to this earth the message Jesus meant when he spoke of the Gospel? Is his return the good news Jesus preached?

In practice the central teaching of many churches is that Jesus is coming very soon, and it is preached with a fearful overtone, a warning—get ready! Don’t be left behind! You’ll be sorry! Often contained in this message is the dire warning, if you aren’t ready you will suffer eternally.

But his soon return hasn’t been so soon. That soon has lasted for a long, long time as these words were penned nearly two thousand years ago. Why has soon lasted so long?

And how can anyone take seriously a warning of an impending event when it has failed to occur for such a long time? Remember the folktale of the boy who cried wolf, who shouted a delusive warning too often? Jesus himself said everything was finished at the cross (John 19:30); so why has he not returned?

What purpose would be served by his warning (promise) of his soon return, and then delaying it for thousands of years? What is gained by this lengthy time from the cross to the present?

Some people reason that the only possible justification for this alleged delay is that the promise was conditional and that his return was contingent on us preaching the Gospel to all the world. We know that there are places in the world where the Gospel has not been preached. Like my mother used to say when I was a child, You aren’t gettin’ dessert until you clean up your plate, is God saying that He isn’t returning again until we have preached the Gospel to all the world?

Are we to blame for this so-called delay? Or have we missed something? Did Jesus tell us what we were supposed to do in code, which we have not yet deciphered? Had Jesus forgotten to tell us something really important?

I can’t imagine that God forgot to tell us something of such importance as how to accomplish this Gospel commission. God doesn’t make oversights; He leaves nothing undone. So how would we know? Is there a way we could determine if there is something we missed even though we don’t know now just what it might be?

There is a way! And a clue to the answer is in Scripture.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that [it was] good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. (Genesis 1:2-5)

The earth was "without form, and void, and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. It seems that God had created matter sometime in the past and who knows how long ago that was? But the book of Genesis begins with this planet in a very rough state. God took this lifeless ball in space and created something of beauty with form and function. He can take chaos and disorder and when He puts order to it He ends with beauty and purpose. The evidence that God is thorough and doesn’t leave anything to chance may be seen in the thoroughness of His creation and the predictability of its functioning. His first act in creating order was to create light," a metaphor He used many times for truth.

When we observe the physical world around us, God’s creation, we see the building blocks of the universe operate in a highly predictable manner, which can be described using complex mathematical formulas and models. We can easily observe events that seem to be associated with each other, and at times we might even be able to determine cause-effect relationships, should they exist.

Even though these physical building blocks are highly ordered in their structure, their innumerable combinations and interactions produce the great variety of things around us.

Scientists have noticed many complex variables associated with many naturally occurring phenomena, and we have learned that the progress and result of a series of related physical events depends on its initial condition—both the magnitude of each of the many variables involved and the point in their interaction from which we begin our observation.

It is like a treasure map that instructs one to march fifty paces north, then seventy-five paces to the left, and then dig down six feet to get the treasure. But the part of the map that tells one where to start has been lost. Where does one start?

In nature even a slight change in the initial conditions precipitating a particular event could likely result in a vastly different outcome (e.g., the position each of the sixteen balls finds on the break in the game of 8-ball). An infinite number of possibilities exist. And, of course, the players attempt to bring order from this chaos.

Apparent chaos may be observed in many fields of scientific study and in certain applications is known as the butterfly effect. This term was coined in 1963 by Edward Lorenz, a professor of mathematics and meteorology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is known as the founder of the chaos theory.

Chaos theory might suggest that the world is not governed in an orderly way. There are aspects of the natural working of the universe, which, indeed, seem to be in chaos. However, when explored in greater detail, as this theory explains, even what appears as chaotic really is not chaotic at all. There is a natural pattern in the workings of nature, but that specific pattern is largely determined by the point where we start our observation.

Complexity is especially evident when meteorologists attempt to predict the precise weather conditions for a particular location for any point in the future. For example, predicting the exact path of a tornado on a particular spring day in Kansas is not presently possible. There are so many variables that it is virtually impossible for even an expert meteorologist using a supercomputer to accurately predict weather conditions on a microlevel for any given locality for even a few days into the future.

The reason for this complexity, I suspect, is because the particles in the air (gas molecules and atoms, dust particles, water as gas or liquid, birds, butterflies, airplanes, escaped balloons, etc.) are not all acting as a common mass but act somewhat independently. The particles are, however, influenced by all other particles around them, but the influence (energy, polarity, mass, shape, and rebound properties) of each particle is too varied and too numerous for our computers to individually calculate. In addition, the energy input from the sun and reflected from the ground greatly influence the motion of these particles; and this influence varies with location, altitude, time of day, and rotation of the earth as well. There are so many variables that the resultant motion cannot be calculated by present means. To make it even more difficult, where and when do we start our observations and calculations?¹ What are the initial conditions?

This effect may be described by analogy. A butterfly flapping its tiny wings over central Mexico could possibly have enough influence on wind currents that it could cause a hurricane to develop hundreds of miles away in the Gulf of Mexico. This same complexity is also observed in our attempts to understand other natural phenomena and presents great difficulties when attempting to predict some future condition.

The difficulties of understanding God’s complex physical world serve as a model in our endeavor to understand God’s truth historically and for the present. God has given us the treasure map, He has revealed His plan, and He has revealed the order in all this apparent chaos. Even though we are given all this information, we must draw meaning from all this data. One’s conclusions depend on the initial premises, those assumptions made from which one interprets the information gained in the search.

Of course, the facts regarding this search are not arrived at empirically; rather, they are revealed to us in God’s record of creation and in the scriptures. The record of nature reveals God’s handiwork, and the scriptures help to reveal His motive. These records contain a large amount of information, facts, evidence, and history that are useful in understanding God’s dealing with us for these past thousands of years and should contain sufficient information so that we need not resort to guessing or making any unnecessary presumptions.

If God has provided such order in His creation isn’t it just as reasonable to believe that the Gospel commission should be as well-defined? If we rightly divide scripture, what may seem to be chaotic may actually have a meaningful pattern (2 Timothy 2:15). Apparently all this chaos—the various conflicting, religious messages presented by a variety of religious organizations—is the result of our presuming a variety of initial conditions.

The end in Matthew 24:14 is often understood from a purely personal, geocentric perspective. The end is believed to be when Jesus comes again to take the righteous home and that this final event is presumed to be the good news, the Gospel (John 11:24, 14:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6).

This understanding is arrived at honestly as this great Gospel commission of Matthew 24:14 lies in the middle of chapters 23 and 24, which, to all appearances, is one discourse expressed by Jesus in response to the disciple’s question.

Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? (Matthew 24:3)

Their two-part question concerned when the end would come and what the signs were of the end of the world. But notice Jesus’s lengthy answer was not framed in the same limited perspective held by the disciples.

And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to [him] for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? (Matthew 24:1-3; bold added)

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:30-31)

Jesus didn’t directly answer the when part of this question; however, he did paint a disturbing picture of the conditions that exists at the end of the world. Some commentators believe that the end Jesus spoke of referred specifically to the end of the Jewish² nation, culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70; however, it also clearly refers to the end of the world (Matthew 13:39-43, 49; 1 Corinthians 15:23-24).

The question one might ask is why did Jesus tie together these two time periods even though they are separated by, as of today, almost two thousand years? What is the common thread? What was his intended message? What did he intend for his disciples to comprehend?

We might even wonder, is the Gospel the good news of destruction and retribution? I hardly think so. Jesus’s words in this context seem more like a warning, a contrast to good news. But Jesus’s words, And this gospel…  (Matthew 24:14), tells us that there is good news in there somewhere, and he had just spoken of it.

So what is this good news to which Jesus referred? Everyone would surely agree that Jesus’s return would be considered to be good news because he brings a reward just as he promised in his own words: he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved (Matthew 24:13). Jesus made this promise again just before he went to the cross (John 14:1-3).

But is this promise the good news Jesus consistently preached for three and a half years? Is his return the message he told his disciples to teach? Is this the Gospel?

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20)

Almost two thousand years ago, Jesus made the promise that he would return, and his followers believed then that the end of the world was imminent (Hebrews 9:26). But notice that Jesus didn’t even drop a clue as to when he would return. This idea of his soon return comes from wishful thinking, and is believed to be supported in the book of Revelation.

And he said unto me, These sayings [are] faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly [en tachei] be done. Behold, I come quickly [techu]: blessed [is] he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. (Revelation 22:6-7; bold and Greek added; see also vv. 12 and 20)

John is reporting Jesus’s words, and it seems as though Jesus is saying that he will come again very soon. This revelation was given about sixty years after Jesus ascended into heaven. Please look at these words again. Jesus said he sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. When we read this we believe that John was shown in vision things that would shortly come to pass.

And, behold, I come quickly [tachu]; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. (Revelation 22:12; Greek added)

These passages seem to confirm his soon return; however, the words shortly and quickly may not mean what you think they mean. The Greek word tachu means swiftly, a brief space of time, by surprise, or suddenly. These words indicate the speed with which an event occurs rather than the time elapsed before it occurs.

The parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13 tells us that it took some time for the bridegroom to arrive for his bride, and that time was not previously announced to others. But when he showed up it was done quickly. The swiftness of his unexpected arrival is also touched on in the allegorical use of a thief in the night (Luke 12:36-40; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 3:3).

So, is the Gospel the news that Jesus’s return is intended to be a surprise? Actually, that doesn’t sound like good news either. First-century believers spread the Gospel very rapidly. The Apostle Paul in his day even said that the Gospel had already been preached to every creature which is under heaven (Colossians 1:23).

If the Gospel was the message of Jesus’s soon return, then was Paul wrong? Or did Paul mean something else? The plain fact is, time has marched on with Jesus not returning to gather together his elect (Matthew 24:31; Mark 13:27).

Do we even dare to question this apparent delay? If one does ask this question is he a scoffer or an evil servant?

Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as [they were] from the beginning of the creation… . But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (2 Peter 3:3-4, 8-10)

But and if [in case] that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming. (Matthew 24:48; modern meaning added)

But the fact remains to confront us: it has been almost two thousand years and Jesus has still not returned. Is it possible that this premise—that version of the Gospel which focuses on the destruction of the earth (2 Peter 3:10-12) upon Jesus’s return bringing the promised reward of eternal life to those who endure—might not be the good news that Jesus wanted us to carry to the world?

Jesus said certain events will occur, and I believe this to be certain. But is this the good news? If Jesus’s return is not the good news he talked about, just what did Jesus preach that we should consider to be the good news?

C hapter 2

Did We Miss Something?

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]. (Ephesians 6:12)

T here must be something going on that we don’t readily perceive. Do we not see these things because we are looking through the idiomatic rose-colored glasses filtering what we sense? Actually, there is much more going on than what we are privileged to see (2 Kings 6). Do we add to our blindness by neglecting to question our presumed understanding in the attempt to avoid the label of scoffer, and therefore, miss the truth of Jesus’s words?

In Matthew 24 the disciples asked Jesus privately what would be the sign of his return. Jesus’s answer appears to be nonspecific. But Jesus actually told us just what the critical issue was preceding his return.

And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. (Matthew 24:3-5; bold added)

The question his disciples asked, apparently, was a bit off point from what Jesus intended them to learn. They were asking for physical signs to alert them of his return, but Jesus brought them on point with a warning prior to addressing their concern. The danger was in their thinking and in their expectations. Jesus warned them about being deceived. Also notice it had to do with his name.

Satan mentally sneaked up on Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and make no mistake about it, he has gotten better at it with time. Satan is itching to do it again and again! Jesus was warning his disciples that Satan wanted to sneak up on them as well, and it concerned the very substance of the Gospel. This warning is expressed throughout Matthew 23, 24, and 25 (specifically Matthew 24:5, 10-15, 23-26, 35-37; even in the parables of Matthew 25, especially vv. 24 and 25). Please note this warning is not time sensitive.

Sin started on this planet with Adam and Eve but really began in heaven. Eve was beguiled by Satan, who had already rebelled against God (Genesis 3:1, 13; confirmed in Revelation 12:9). The word beguiled is the Hebrew word nâshâ’, meaning to delude or lead astray. It means to change, in a negative way, how a person thinks about something, and is disclosed by the phrase, in my name.

The Apostle Paul informs us that understanding the nature of Adam’s sin is important in understanding what Jesus did.

For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. (Romans 5:19)

The word translated disobedience is parakoēs, which means inattention. The word translated as obedience is hupakoēs, which means attentive hearkening. The primary root is akouō, meaning to hear, from which we get the word acoustic. But please notice, disobedience, as well as obedience, is directly related to our ears; are we listening or not? It is also connected to our brains. Do we heed the message, or not? (For additional discussion, see p. 283.)

The problem on this planet may be summed up by the Greek word planaō, meaning deception (for additional discussion regarding planaō, see p. 350). But deception is not limited to just this planet. Many angels were deceived too. From the full context of scripture, there appears to be a conflict, a war, affecting the entire universe (Ephesians 1:7-10, 3:7-10; Colossians 1:19, 20). It is a war between Jesus and Satan and the final battle is played out here on this planet. War, we tend to think, is about power, control, authority, territory, resources, and wealth. Is this war about any of these issues?

Satan was created by God. Satan isn’t a god, even though he wants to be. Satan has great power given to him by God, but God didn’t create him with unlimited powers (Job 1:12, 2:6). This war is not about who has the most power, etc., as God could just snap His fingers and Satan would become impotent or even cease to exist at all. God could have done this thousands of years ago, so why didn’t He? We must conclude that the conflict is not about who has the most power.

If this war isn’t about power, then this conflict must be about something else, and this war is so important that it has engaged God’s attention and has occupied the entire universe for at least six thousand years. And this conflict is something that we should be aware of and concerned with too, as we seem to be living in its concluding phase.

Why does God allow Satan to continue to exist and war against Him? Satan is also causing damage to this earth and to us as well. Isn’t God concerned about this?

If the war isn’t about power, what is it about? Territory? No! If not territory, then what? In order to answer this question, one needs to consult the entire record of Scripture God has given to us. One could get the idea that the Bible is just a collection of stories, a history book where some of the facts cannot even be verified by extrabiblical sources.

The Bible was written over a period of thousands of years by many different authors, speaking several different languages, living in different cultures, under many different circumstances; so it isn’t surprising that on the surface this collection of books might seem to be merely an odd collection of apparently loosely related stories.

However, there is a single thread that runs through both the entire Old and New Testaments. That thread is not about the Israelites, as Abraham didn’t appear on the scene until several thousand years after creation. The record of Scripture is about the God of Abraham, but actually He is the God of all of creation. If one were to read the Bible in a single sitting, one would come away with the idea that the Bible is about God, more specifically, how He desires to win everyone’s trust, love, loyalty, and admiration (Deuteronomy 32; Job; Jeremiah 31:33; John 5:39; Hebrews 8:10, 10:16).

This thread is referred to in Matthew 24:5 by the phrase, in my name and simply means my reputation. Reputation is what a person is known for. One of the quickest ways to destroy someone’s reputation is by gossip. Gossip, we all know, destroys trust. Trustworthiness seems to be the main issue with reputation. Both love and admiration afforded to another person are contingent on trust. If trust is the issue, what is it that really establishes trust?

Is God to be trusted because He has infinite power? Would you trust someone who gets what he wants by threat or use of force? Do you trust someone who gets angry when you don’t do what they want? Do you trust the proverbial used-car salesman? He has never lied to you, but you still don’t trust him, do you? And, please, don’t confuse predictability with trust.

Is trust based on something else, something that is very important to God and the conduct of His kingdom? As we will see, trust or faith (they really are the same thing) is a crucial requirement that even precedes Jesus’s return to this earth.

Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8)

This universal war is about God’s reputation, and this war was thrust upon this planet by Satan. It was precipitated by the question Satan planted in the minds of Adam and Eve. Satan hooked this innocent pair with a question about the trustworthiness of God—can He be trusted? He claimed that God lied to them, and this is his story, and he’s sticking to it. We all know it is really impossible to trust someone who lies to you.

This same question is of immense concern to everyone in the universe, as it reflects on God’s character, His motive, and the administration of His kingdom. Notice that the challenge to Eve involved her freedom. Satan’s question expressed feigned surprise that she was somehow limited in her freedom to eat of every tree in the garden. More importantly, notice Satan’s implication about God in his conversation with Eve.

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (Genesis 3:1-5)

Satan’s conversation started with a question to Eve; however, this question wasn’t a question intending to find an honest answer. Rather, the negative answer was implied in the question—a not-so-subtle suggestion to Eve that God has lied to her.

This war actually originated in heaven with Satan’s rebellion (Isaiah 14:12-14), and then engulfed this earth when Satan drew Adam and Eve into the battle with his specific lie,

Ye shall not surely die. (Genesis 3:4)

The phrase surely die comes from the Hebrew phrase mûth tamûth, which translates as a death shalt thou die or dying thou shalt die and sometimes translated literally as die die. Repetition of a word is a Hebraism to express emphasis, as in really, really die. From the moment Adam and Eve sinned they started to age (die).

Satan’s lie diverted the trust the holy pair originally placed in God. God’s perfectly created earth was marred. What was God going to do? What would be His solution? How will God conduct Himself in this war? Will He fight back?

Everyone would agree that the solution to a problem needs to fit the problem. There is a modern parable where a man in a small Midwest town noisily dragged a large chain behind him as he daily walked the streets. When asked by a stranger why he did this, he replied that it was to prevent rogue elephants from coming and destroying the town. The stranger countered, There aren’t any elephants around here for hundreds of miles. The man replied, Pretty effective, isn’t it?

God isn’t dragging a chain. God is dealing with the sin problem. It is we who are somewhat confused, however. Our understanding of the sin problem will depend on the questions we ask.

What is the actual problem confronting God’s creation? Is the problem actually death? Or is it something else, perhaps the cause of death? Is the problem limited to this earth? Or does the problem involve the entire universe?

We tend to confine our understanding to our own problem, death. However, God told us in the instructions He gave to Adam the very day he was created.

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Genesis 2:16-17)

It sounds like death is the problem, but let’s not stop here. Let’s investigate further. Death seems to be the consequence of eating the forbidden fruit, but eating the fruit was only the act. We must consider the motive for this act. Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit because they failed to believe God’s warning and instead believed Satan’s lie. The original problem started with the tiny seed of doubt in God’s truthfulness but culminated in the transfer of this trust to Satan. Trusting Satan instead of God is the core issue—death was simply the result of this lost trust.

Was it trust or was it belief that was the issue? The answer is, yes, because both the Hebrew and Greek words carry the same meaning. The Hebrew word comes from the primitive root ‘âman, which means to build up or support or foster. The primary Greek word is peithō, which means to convince (by argument, true or false). Both sources embody the full meaning of all of the four English words translated from the Hebrew and Greek words, trust, belief, faith, and confidence.

Death is not the primary concern with God’s warning; the issue really is trust in God. Satan attempts to misdirect the focus from the real problem, misplaced trust, to its consequence, death. The resolution to the problem of death is contingent upon the resolution of the actual problem, lost trust in God. Consider Jesus’s words.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth [pisteuō] in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:16-18; bold and Greek added)

Pisteuō comes from the primary verb peithō, often translated as trust or believe. How is God going to restore this original, ideal condition—a universe of trusting beings with eternal life? What methods is He to use? Will He demand trust or will He win it? God will unfold His answers during the next four thousand years or so.

Satan invented sin (John 8:44). Satan’s first lie was, I will be like the most High and his first victim was himself (Isaiah 14:12-14). He was jealous of God. His motive was selfishness; he placed himself first. His allegiance, his trust, was no longer with God. In the absence of trust in God, his mind descended into envy and rage. He had to spread his anger toward God upon others in order to justify his sickness. He won some of the angels, but others were not convinced, and no longer listened to him. When Satan exhausted his audience in heaven, he turned to earth. Perhaps he thought if he could just convince Adam and Eve of his newfound wisdom, he could have a whole planet and its future inhabitants for his own kingdom.

In his lie to Adam and Eve, Ye shall not surely die in direct conflict with God’s warning, thou shalt surely die, Satan accused God of hiding the truth from them. But it was worse than that. Satan called God a liar and claimed He can’t be trusted (Genesis 3:4-5).