2. The promised Messiah

Jesus-Messiah-2.pdf

An exposition of Jesus life for young and old, to clarify the deeper meaning of the Messiah.

In the previous section, we have seen the history since the first people, Adam and Eve, and about the birth and younger years of Jesus. In Part 2, we will continue with the adult life of Jesus, his baptism and a comprehensive exposition of the ruler of this world.

Jesus baptism

Before baptizing Jesus, John the Baptist first makes the way ready for the Messiah:

NKJV (Matthew 3:4-6) 4 And John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him 6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

Then Jesus offers himself and is Jesus baptized by John the Baptist:

NKJV (John 1:29-34) 29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” 32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

John had seen the Holy Spirit descending from heaven as a dove on Jesus.
After Jesus baptism there was a voice from heaven:

NKJV (Matthew 3:17) 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

The ruler of the world

In order to better understand the unique teaching of Jesus, we first must know more about the actual rulers, the invisible spiritual rulers.
After Jesus baptism by John the Baptist, Jesus went to the desert to fast 40 days there:

NKJV (Luke 4:1-2) 1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. …..

NKJV (Luke 4:5-6) 5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

Here we get an important insight into Satan’s dominant position, all the kingdoms of the earth have ever been delivered to him by the almighty God YHWH according to Satan.
When?
To answer this question, we must go back to the first people who were not allowed to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17):

NKJV (Genesis 3:1-6) 1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

Satan as a serpent (see Rev. 12: 9) first sowed doubts and then spoke lies against Eva.
In the end, it was the question whether God as Creator has the right to demand unconditional obedience from all his creatures.
All angel sons were witnesses here, it was a very important question, a battle question.
After Adam and Eve had sinned, the ground was cursed and the first people were driven out of paradise:

NKJV (Genesis 3:17,24) 17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.;….. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

About the almighty God YHWH is written that He, as the Creator, is the righteous King, the King of Kings:

NKJV (1 Timothy 6:15-16) 15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

God has apparently laid down His kingdom over the people after the sins of Adam and Eve, the first people.
Fortunately, it is written in Revelation that in the last days God will take on the kingdom again:

NKJV (Revelation 11:15) 15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”

Through the sins and disobedience of the first people, Satan got humanity in his power, after all, they believed him.
It is not literally described in the Scriptures, but it is to be deduced from the fall of Eden, that he took over the ruling of the human world.
So it is almost certain that the fall of Eden has been the moment Satan has enforced the role of ruler before God and before all angels, with the reason that obedience to God does not have to be self-evident and that he was then given the space to prove this.

In Isaiah there is a passage in which the text is factually directed to Satan, and where it is written that he even wants to equate himself with the Most High:

ESV (Isaia 14:12-14) 12 “How you are fallen from heaven,O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 13 You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’

But how did Satan become an opponent of God?
Ezekiel speaks of a message to the king of Tire, but is in fact describing Satan’s injustice:

NKJV (Ezekiël 28:11-16) 11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 12 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. 14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you. 16 “By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones.

A cherub is an angel of a high order who performs holy duties in the sight of God and distinguishing himself in this way from the other angels.
Pictures of cherubs belonged to the interior of the tabernacle in the desert, tent clothings with embroidery of cherubs.
On the ends of the lid of the ark of the covenant were two cherubim of gold facing each other, with their wings spread out.

Satan was therefore, according to Ezekiel, a privileged spiritual creature, a cherub on the holy mountain of God, but was banned from the holy mountain after his iniquity.
Well, the almighty God of Israel has his throne in heaven between the cherubs:

NKJV (Isaia 37:16) 16 “O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth..
NKJV (Psalms 80:1) 1 ….. You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!

That Satan is a powerful spiritual creature, is evident from the history of Job:

NKJV (Job 1:7) 7 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”

On this occasion, Satan expressed his doubts about why Job was so sincere and god-fearing. Then God gave Job’s possessions and children for this special ordeal in Satan’s hand, but he was not allowed to take Job’s life:

NKJV (Job 1:11-12) 11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” 12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

What turned out, Satan used his power over the powers of nature:
There fell fire from heaven that burned up the sheep and servants.
There rose a violent storm wind that collapsed the house in which Jobs children stayed:

NKJV (Job 1:16,19) 16 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them;…. 19 and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead;…

Satan also showed power over people and their violent actions:

NKJV (Job 1:15,17) 15 when the Sabeans raided them and took them away–indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword;…. 17 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword;….

And Satan also showed power over diseases:

NKJV (Job 2:7) 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.

Could Satan do with Job what he wanted? He could not go further than God allowed.
This also shows that he did not dispute God’s power and authority.
Satan with all his power is thus unable to break God’s protection, but we should certainly not underestimate the cherub Satan.

Further insights about Satan’s organization are given in the book Daniel:
Daniel was visited by an angel:

NKJV (Daniel 10:12-13) 12 Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.

NKJV (Daniel 10:20-21) 20 Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? And now I must return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come. 21 But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth. (No one upholds me against these, except Michael your prince.

These mentioned princes are not ordinary princes, but spiritual invisible leaders who lead the kingdoms of the earth. The ruler Michael ruled at that time God’s people, the Jewish people. But the other mentioned princes are godless powers, for they stood against Gabriel. They tried to prevent Gabriel from explaining a prophecy to Daniel about the end time. They are appointed leaders and behind them is Satan, their ruler. Through these princes, Satan subsequently leads mankind.
Satan’s organization is, according to Jesus, certainly not a divided empire:

NKJV (Matthew 12:23-26) 23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” 24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” 25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

Not only Satan, but also other angel sons became apostate. These angels, who are thrown into Tartarus since the flood stay there waiting for their judgment. Before the flood (the flood was about 2350 BC) these angels were disobedient to God because they had relations with the daughters of men (Genesis 6: 1-2):

NKJV (2 Peter 2:4-5) 4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;

Unfortunately, not only these mentioned angel sons were disobedient, many more angels were rebellious and chose Satan’s side.
This is supported in Scripture in the section of Luke 8:31, where demons urged Jesus not to send them into the abyss:

NKJV (Luke 8:30-33) 30 Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss. 32 Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. 33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.

Satan’s purpose is clear, he will do everything in order to mislead the entire human world:

NKJV (Revelation 12:9) 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
NKJV (James 4:4) 4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Since Satan undoubtedly knew that Jesus was the Son of God and the one about who was prophesied that He would bruise his head (Ge 3:15), he did everything he could to eliminate Jesus:

NKJV (John 14:30) 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.
NKJV (John 17:15-16) 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
NKJV (John 16:33) 33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

From the above texts it appears that the human world is completely under the influence and leadership of Satan and his demons-princes.
Christians are not ignorant about Satan’s intentions

NKJV (Ephesians 2:2) 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

People who belong to this world are called children or sons of disobedience.
Consider during every ordeal what Jesus will say to these inveterate children of disobedience:

NKJV (Matthew 25:41) 41 Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

How is Satan to resist?

NKJV (James 4:7-8) 7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. ….

NKJV (Ephesians 6:11-13) 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Jesus taught us praying to be delivered from Satan:

NKJV (Matthew 6:9-13) 9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

It is God’s intention that Satan should exercise his godless works only for a limited time, then to expel him out of creation and chain him, to let him return after a period and then completely erase him.
According to Jesus, the path as disciple is inevitably linked with struggle and suffering:

NKJV (John15:20) 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you;….

Afterwards, Jesus instructed Paul as a traveling light bearer:

NKJV (Acts 26:17-18) 17..to whom I now send you, 18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’.

Paul then warned the Christian communities for a deceptive light:

NKJV (2 Corinthians 11:14-15) 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

Every war and injustice on earth can be explained with Satan as ruler along with his demon-princes. It is their orchestrated influence on the sons of disobedience.
The ultimate purpose of Satan is to eliminate Christianity and obtain worship for himself to humiliate God.
Jesus was very well aware of this deception of Satan and his demons. It is mentioned several times throughout his preaching.

Are we already misled now?
In many ways. Below an example.

In the video below, a plasma bolt appears above the Temple Mount (Mount Moria) in Jerusalem in January 2011:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIoHE6P8gOk

It is certainly a sign of the great deceiver who wants to impress ignorant people. (Revelation 13:13)
This is often used to prove that God does not exist, according to these persons there are already so many alien civilizations observed?
The latter, however, is impossible for believing Christians.
To them, life is so beautiful, unique and complex that the existence of God is an absolute certainty.
Others say that God may have created more civilizations.
But if God had created more human civilizations, then God could have destroyed humanity on Earth legitimate – as their Creator – after their first sins.
God did – with reason – not choose for this.
Then, the sacrifice made by Jesus would be of no value and that is what Satan wants to achieve. Trying to make Christians doubt, to discourage them.

The apostles

With this knowledge of Satan’s power and his deception of humanity in mind, we can continue with the election of the 12 apostles by Jesus.
Jesus chose the apostles out of the Jews because God had told this to Moses:

NKJV (Exodus 19:6) 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

Andreas and Simon Peter find the promised Messiah:

NKJV (John 1:35-42) 35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). 40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).

The disciples Philip and Nathanael are called:

NKJV (John 1:43-48) 43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote–Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

The disciples Simon Peter, Andreas, James and John have decided to follow Jesus:

NKJV (Matthew 4:18-22) 18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him. 21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

In the next part of the Messiah, part 3, we will continue on Jesus teaching and we will explain deeper the components of Satan’s world; power, money, philosophy, adultery and how God will solve this for the future.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *