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lampstand, light ., morning star, Moses and Elijah, The two witnesses

The Messiah’s Secret – Morning Star “Christ in you” Part 7

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The Transfiguration
“And after six days Jesus took with him James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured before them and his garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say, for they were exceedingly afraid. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” And suddenly looking around they no longer saw any one with them but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of man should have risen from the dead.” Mark 9: 2-9

This account of ‘The Transfiguration’ Mark’s source coming from James, John or Peter. The Transfiguration was kept a secret until after Jesus’ resurrection. These three disciples saw a glimpse of the kingdom of God that day on the mountain, seeing Jesus speaking to Moses and Elijah.

Peter being an eye witness referred to the transfiguration in his second letter. In it he gives us further observations that are both natural and theological in content.
Peter wrote of the majesty of Jesus. He must have noticed the manner in which Jesus spoke to Elijah and Moses; his gracious demeanour.
I’ve noticed our Queen as she makes her way through a crowd of well wishers, she is so gracious and carries authority of her regal office were ever she goes.

Peter also noticed that Jesus received honour and glory from his Father God by being recognised as his Son, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
In reference to God, Peter used the words ‘Majestic Glory.’ The sovereignty of God, the kingly greatness of the Lord of all creation.

Peter went on to say making a theological point, “Jesus is the prophetic word made sure. You will do well to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place.” The testimony of King David “The word a lamp to my feet, a light to my path.” 2 Peter 1: 16-19. Psalm 119: 105.

Peter was referring to the lampstand that lit the room called the Holy Place this room was next to ‘The Most Holy Place’ or also known as ‘The Holy of Holies’. It was a room with no natural light, the priests worked in there making the shrewbread, tended the altar of incense and filled the lampstand with olive oil, its’ seven lamps were kept lit, never to go out.

 
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I purchased this miniature brass lampstand from the Jewish Museum in Manchester, England.

The lamp gave artificial light, but its symbolism refers to Jesus Christ ‘The light of the world.’

The lampstand had no joints or sections; it was made out of a single block of pure gold. It was beaten, hammered into shape. It had six branches going out of its sides, three branches on one side and three on the other.
These branches had flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms on them. On the shaft were four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. One bud was under the first pair of branches going out from the lampstand. A second bud under the second pair and a third bud under the third pair. The buds and the branches were all of one piece with the lampstand, in total there were seven lamps that made up the lampstand. Exodus 37: 17-23

The whole Lampstand – Jesus, the light of the world.
The gold from the earth, beaten into shape from one block. Jesus coming from heaven contained in his body the church. In Christ before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1: 4.

The composition of the Lampstand.
The Base – Jesus the source of our eternal life.
The shaft – bearing the branches as it serves the branches with the oil. Jesus is all in all, strengthening and caring for his family of believers.
The branches – the church enlightened by the Word, individually members of one another
The oil – filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Below some scriptures about the light of Christ.

”To give the light of the knowledge of God in the face of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4: 6.

“Having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.” Ephesians 1: 18.

The seven churches in Revelation are described as being seven lampstands. Revelation 1: 20.
The church embraces the whole light of Christ. This light is able to penetrate the darkest of sinful lives, as a result enabling a person to have the opportunity to enter into the light, the knowledge of Jesus and his forgiveness and love and to know the power of his resurrection that transforms lives from the darkness of a living death, a tomb or a tunnel, or a pit of sludge or being stranded like a beached whale. Jesus saves us, rescues us, loves us and calls us his own.

We are the branches of the Lampstand
The Light of Christ in You
“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory shall be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” Isaiah: 60: 1-3

The Morning Star
“I Jesus have sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star. Rev 22: 16.
We see the stars shining brightly in the heavens, the stars are an emblem of a lofty position. Rev 2: 28
Jesus’ brightness like that of a morning star. This star shines brightly as the sun rises at dawn. Peter wrote, “Until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your heart.” 2 Peter 1: 19

The presence of God is within every believer in Jesus Christ.
The dawning in a person’s heart of the knowledge of the truth about Jesus is just amazing the presence of the Lord inwardly becomes real, not just to ourselves but to others as the light of Jesus is visibly seen in us.
I’ve seen the light of Christ shining in Christians on a number of occasions: In my twenties I saw the light of Christ in a young man who today would be described as having learning difficulties. It was lunch time and my sister and I were passing through a room where this young man was sat reading. We asked him what he was reading. He looked up and said that he was reading his Bible and began to quote from what he was reading; as soon as he spoke I saw his face was glowing in the light of Christ.
On another occasion a lady came to my market stall as we conversed she told me that she was a Christian as soon as she started to tell me this her face shone with the light of Christ.
I’ve also seen the light on a line of scripture in my Bible, some time ago.
On another occasion I was at a church function the room well lit and full of people. I happened to look across the room and saw around the head of the late Rev Ron Freeman, a halo around his head and in the light the word ‘love.’ I realised that others have seen the halo of light around the heads of Christians; many of the pictures of people painted on stained glass windows have the halo around the heads of them.

 
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The light of the perfect day approaching.
When I thought about these two men talking with Jesus. Moses died in old age and Elijah was translated into heaven taken up by the whirlwind by the banks of the Jordon River. When Jesus calls out his body of believers Paul tells that those who have died in faith will be raised up to meet Jesus in the air and those who are alive will be taken up from the earth so together we shall meet the Lord in the air. I see Moses representing those who have died in faith and Elijah representing those taken up from the earth to meet the Lord.

Jesus having this expectation in himself of his coming, this expectation is in us, because Christ is in us.
This hope of Jesus’ coming is born in us through Jesus’ own desire to come from heaven and call out his church.

After Jesus has called out his church.
Elijah and Moses.
James, John and Peter seeing Moses and Elijah together with Jesus, is it possible that they will be the two witnesses identified by John in Revelation. The signs that were done by Elijah and Moses in their life time are performed by the two witnesses in Revelation 11?

Two Jewish men in the power and Spirit of Elijah and Moses.
Arnold Fruchtenbaum “Footsteps of the Messiah” suggests that these two witnesses will probably be two Jewish men whom God raises up at the beginning of the tribulation. He also writes; “The scripture clearly teach that Elijah is to return before the tribulation. But there is no scriptural warrant to make Elijah one of the two witnesses.” Page 159
These men empowered by the Lord to perform signs similar to that of Moses and Elijah.

The Two Witnesses witness during the first part of the tribulation
In the last book of the New Testament ‘Revelation’ the Apostle John wrote about the two witnesses; two olive trees and two lampstands.
The produce of the olive trees provided oil for the lampstands.
The two witnesses empowered by the Holy Spirit will give testimony to Jesus and prophecy for 1,260 days.
They have the power for: fire to pour from their mouths and consume their foes, to with hold rain from the earth during the time of their prophesying and they have the power over the waters to turn them into blood and to smite the earth with plagues.

Elijah brought fire from heaven and consumed his foes and his prayer held back the rain.

“Elijah the Tishbite in Gilead said to King Ahab, “As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years except by my word.” 1 Kings 17: 1.
“After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go show yourself to Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.” 1 Kings 18: 1.

Moses
Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and asked him to let the Hebrew people leave Egypt, but Pharaoh refused to let them leave. Moses holding the rod struck the Nile and its water’s turned into blood. Exodus 7: 20

Elijah was called ’the troubler of Israel’ as he spoke out against the idolatry of Israel.
In Revelation chapter eleven after the prophesied death of the two witnesses by the antichrist. Their bodies will be left on the street as a gesture of defiance by those spoken out against because of their sinful lives by the two witnesses; they will rejoice and celebrate by giving each other presents.
Their rejoicing will be short lived as God resurrects the two witnesses and they ascend into heaven.

Christians from the Tribulation gathered before the throne of Jesus
“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands . . . . . Then one of the elders addressed me saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and whence have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb.” Revelation 7: 9-17
The two witnesses bring forth a multitude of believers through their faithful witness. The palm branches held by the tribulation saints are in connection with “The Feast of tabernacles or Booths”

Assurance from the words of scripture.
The Lord has given us the light of his word that his church for today, that we will not enter into the Tribulation. “Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” 1 Thessalonians 1: 10.

Let us rejoice in the hope that we have and pray for those who do not yet have this peace and assurance. Lord, may our witness today bring people to faith in Jesus. Amen

healing, light ., oil of anointing, ointment, ptyalin

The Messiah’s Secret – Healing Ministry of Jesus

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Healing Ministry of Jesus

We had heard from friends that in Bury where we used to live twenty two years ago, there has been substantial re-development in the town: a new shopping area and a change in the road layout. On the day we visited we were pleasantly surprised by the dynamic buildings with colourful use of glass, lots of space in the pedestrian areas.

God called Nehemiah to go to Judah and rebuild the cities walls that lay in ruins.
It was in 445BC when Nehemiah heard about the Jewish homeland from those who had been and seen the ruined city walls and gates. At first he was devastated to hear of its demise. God moved on King Artaxerxes allowing Nehemiah to go and rebuild the city walls around Jerusalem. On his arrival he observed that the Jewish people who had escaped the exile had integrated with foreigners in marriage and business. Nehemiah was upset by how much the people had fallen away from keeping the Laws of Moses, he could not accept this. Nehemiah 1:2, 3, 7. 2: 6

Soon after he arrived a famine took hold and grain was being sold at a premium. The king’s taxes could not be paid by the poor. During that period wealthy Jewish people took advantage of the Jewish poor by lending money at a high rate of interest. When a person could not repay their mortgage or loan, they took in payment their vineyards and property and some people were sold as slaves. Nehemiah 5: 1 – 13
(Under law a Jewish person who owed money and could not repay their loan became their hired servant until they paid off their debt.)

Nehemiah brought the leading Jewish citizens together and spoke out against their practices. They respected Nehemiah and did as he said; they returned the vineyards to their rightful owners and wrote off their debts.

470 years later Jesus himself was sent by God to fulfil his purposes in proclaiming the coming of the kingdom of God to the whole of Israel.
On one of Jesus’ missionary journeys, Jesus was passing through Jericho he invited himself to stay at Zacchaeus the tax collector’s home. Afterwards Zacchaeus announced that he would restore four fold the money that he had acquired under false pretences and he would give half of his possessions to the poor. Zaccheaus through his repentance he brought salvation to his household through keeping the law.Luke 19:1-10

Zacchaeus was one of those who were once blind but now he could see. John 9: 39

It’s the same for us today Jesus will penetrate the blindness of our hearts to fulfil God’s purposes in our lives.

God in his love created all things and sustains all things in love, bringing healing and wholeness.

The Messiah’s Secret page 96“
But I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go hence.” John 14: 31 Jesus was loved by his Father, and he loved his Father, he knew that he had a purpose to fulfil that was of his death and resurrection, so he laid down his life on his own accord out of love for his Father. His Father out of his love for humankind and for all creation wanted Jesus to save the world from eternal death, darkness.”

Jesus the Light of the world ” The Chemistry of the Blood/Chapter 4 page 58 “The Chemistry of Light.” M D DeHaan. M. D.
“Three kinds of Rays”
A scientific analysis of sunlight reveals that it consists of three kinds of rays:
1. Chemical rays or actinic. These rays are invisible and can neither be felt or seen.
2. Light rays. These rays can be seen but are never felt.
3. Heat rays. These rays are felt but never seen.

God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. We know that the Godhead consists of three persons: Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
The Father corresponds to the chemical rays of sunlight; No man has seen God at any time.
The Son, who is the light of the world, corresponds to the light rays, the One whom we can see but not feel.
The Holy Spirit corresponds to the heat rays, since He is felt in the lives of believers but is never seen.”

Jesus healed the Blind Man.
Jesus and his disciples came out of the temple and as they walked away they saw a blind man who had been blind from birth. Jesus addressed his need; his blindness which in doing so we read was to fulfil the purposes of God. John 9: 6-11.
In this miracle Jesus brought together creation and the creator, making God tangible.
The first thing that he did he spat on the ground and then he mixed his saliva with the dust, making an ointment.

What is the significance of this ointment?

1/ Adam was created out of dust. Adam means – red earth
2/ Saliva is also part of the miracle of our creation.

In our saliva is a chemical called Ptyalin. This chemical penetrates the indigestible starch in our food. It is as we chew our food the ptyalin gets to work, it converts ( a change in substance) the starch into sugar. This is a scientific fact.
“Wonderfully Made” The Amazing Structure and Functions of the Human Body by Prof. A Rendle Short, M.D., F.R.C.S.
”The process begins in the mouth. Food is broken up mechanically by chewing, and moistened and lubricated by the saliva. There is an enzyme in saliva called ptyalin, which acts on insoluble starch and converts it into soluble sugar. Food does not stay long enough in the mouth for this to be carried far, but the digestion is continued in the stomach, inside boluses of food, until it is stopped by the acidity of the gastric juice.”

The significance of this is that after Jesus made the ointment he anointed the man’s eyes with it and then told him to wash it off in the Pool of Siloam.
It was in the anointing that the Lord spiritually acted upon the ointment so that when it was washed off, he could see, his eyes were opened.
Through the anointing Jesus penetrated the closed eyes of his darkness, bringing sight when he opened his eyes.

The Pharisees questioned the man saying, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” verse 26 Theses words would imply that the eyelids of the blind man were tightly closed from birth.

The significance of washing the ointment off in the Pool of Siloam
Every day during the Feast of Tabernacles one of the priests would go down from the temple to the Pool of Siloam and draw a pitcher of water and return with it to the temple, pouring it into a basin at the base of the altar on the south side. Ezekiel prophesied that it was at this point where the pouring out of the water from the Pool of Siloam took place that the river of life would begin.
“Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced the east); and the water was flowing from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar.” Ezekiel 47: 1

It was on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles that Jesus stood and proclaimed, “If any one thirst let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” Now he said this about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.” John 7: 37-39

The Holy Spirit
When a person is baptised either by full immersion or by being sprinkled with water it is symbolic of being washed clean from sin and also of being filled with the Holy Spirit. It is also denotes a person making a public declaration of faith in Christ

Anointing with Oil
The disciples took with them oil for anointing the sick when they were sent out by Jesus with the kingdom message. The oil being anointed consecrated for specific use, the Holy Spirit acts upon the oil.
I do not believe that the oil has any power in itself, only the natural healing properties that some oils have. I’ve never before considered the Lord himself using natural created substances and spiritually acting upon them to bring about healing. Through this study I do believe that Jesus will do so.

Sacramental Anointing
During the communion service the sacraments: the wine and the bread are consecrated for the purposes of God. In the Anglican Common Prayer Book we read that the sacraments are the means by which we may enter into the benefits of Jesus’ passion; his victory over sickness and death through his resurrection.
“O Lord and heavenly Father, we thy humble servants entirely desire thy fatherly goodness mercifully to accept this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving; most humbly beseeching thee to grant, that by the merits and death of thy Son Jesus Christ, and through faith in his blood, we and all thy whole church may obtain remission of our sins, and all other benefits of his passion. And here we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and our bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice unto thee; humbly beseeching thee, that all we, who are partakers of this holy Communion, may be fulfilled with thy grace, and heavenly benediction. . . . “

The sacraments are symbols of Jesus’ saving grace, through faith we enter into the riches of the Lord’s inheritance to us.

“Bless the Lord , Oh my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not his benefits,
who forgives all our iniquity, who heals all our diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.” Psalm 103: 1-4

Communion Service with Anointing with Oil
After receiving Communion a prayer for healing may follow at the Communion rail or a place is set aside where prayer and anointing with oil takes place. The oil is applied onto a person’s forehead or hands with the sign of the cross, accompanied with a short prayer.

“God our Father we give thanks and praise for bringing healing and wholeness to all those who come to you in faith, so that the purposes of God might be fulfilled in a Christian’s life and through the witness of being healed, people might see and believe.” Amen

Simple Faith and grace
After having my second child I had pain like a migraine in my stomach. It was spasmodic but I was troubled with it for approx 3 years, the doctor told me that I had to live with it, I took medication to relieve the pain.
I was healed by the Lord after attended a meeting at Winton Baptist Church Eccles. During the service an invitation was given by the Minister H Oldham ‘Any one who would like a ministry for healing, to go to the vestry after the service and they would be prayed for,’ as I was in some discomfort at the time I responded in faith to that invitation. However, I was not healed immediately, I went home still in pain, but the next day it had gone and I never had that pain again. By grace I was also healed of other things in my life that I had been struggling with. Jesus brought healing and wholeness into my life and increased my faith. My healing took place before I was empowered by the Holy Spirit’s through the laying on of hands.

‘The Time to Heal’ Report
Over the last ten years since ‘The Time to Heal’ Report was published, the Anglican Church has been encouraging it’s congregations to be guided by this report in the ministry of Healing, which is based on scripture and has the benefit of many Christian anointed expertise and gifts in the ministry of healing today.