3. Prince of Peace

Prince of Peace-Part 3.pdf

NKJV (Isaiah 9: 6) 6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called:
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

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In the previous article, we spoke about the unique teachings of Jesus about inner peace and about the age of the Prince of Peace on the new earth. And about Jesus teachings to love in peace even our enemies and to pray for them. We also have talked about the Sprout, the Prince of Peace, who will hold peace talks with his Father on the new earth. (Zechariah 6:13)

In what period did Isaiah get the vision of the Prince of Peace?
A brief historical overview;

The vision of the Prince of Peace

The book of Isaiah was written around 750-700 before Christ.
After the death of King Solomon, the Jewish nation was divided and two kingdoms emerged, the southern two-tribe kingdom of Judah (or Judea) and the northern ten-tribe kingdom of Israel.

The northern ten-tribe kingdom of Israel, with its wicked kings, was taken by Assyria:

NKJV (2 Kings 17: 6-8,12) 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. 7 For so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they had feared other gods, 8 and had walked in the statutes of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made….. 12 for they served idols, of which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.”

The theme of this article is; Building now peace and forgiveness into our heart.

Continue reading “3. Prince of Peace”

2. Prince of Peace

Prince of Peace-Part 2.pdf

NKJV (Isaiah 9: 6) 6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called:
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

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In the previous article we have seen that politicians – who call themselves Christians – display a questionable and worldly behavior towards the persecuted Christians in the world. We saw that Christians can maintain peace by not being afraid and to believe in Jesus’ words.
Furthermore, the announcement of the promised Prince of Peace in the Old Testament was discussed.

In Jesus’ days it were not the Jewish leaders, but it was the Jewish people who understood that the long-awaited King had come.
They were delighted with the Messenger of peace from heaven:

NKJV (Luke 19:38) 38 (the people) saying: “‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

They realized very clearly, that Jesus came to them in the Name of God. (YHWH)
A large part of the Jewish people were alert to the coming of the Messiah, but not all:

NKJV (Luke 19:42) 42 saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

But are also the current disciples of Jesus alert now and are all Christians awaiting Jesus’ 2nd coming? All Christians fortunately do believe in Jesus’ words, but only few look forward to the Second Coming or Parousia of the Christ.
There are therefore few Christians who experience Christianity as it is intended.

NKJV (Luke 13:24) 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

The theme of this article is; The unique teachings of Jesus about inner peace and the age of the Prince of Peace on the new earth.

Continue reading “2. Prince of Peace”

The Lord’s Supper 2019

The Lord’s Supper 2019.pdf

Announcement of the Lord’s Supper 2019

Christians celebrate the Lord’s Supper to remember in gratitude the sacrifice of Jesus:

ESV (1 Timothy 2:5-6) 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all,….

On the date 14 Nisan, is again the annual celebration of the Lord’s Supper.

  • For Christians, the Lord’s Supper replaces the Pesach

Jesus celebrated the Jewish Pesach on the same evening as the Lord’s Supper:

NKJV (Matthew 26: 19-20) 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover (Pesach). 20 When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve.
NKJV (Matthew 26:26-28) 26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

The annual sacrificing of a lamb was no longer necessary after Jesus’ perfect sacrifice. (Hebrews 7: 26-27)
Jesus purposely wanted to replace the Pesach celebration with the Lord’s Supper, as a day of remembrance for all Christians in the New Covenant:

NKJV (Hebrews 7:22) 22 by so much more Jesus has become a surety (or Guarantee) of a better covenant.

The New Covenant applies specifically to the offspring as promised to Abraham:

NKJV (Genesis 26: 4) 4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;

It was not the direct offspring of Abraham where the promise was about, but the future offspring of Abraham in the line of Christ: 

NKJV (Galatians 3: 14, 16) 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus,….16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.

The Christian offspring will be very numerous, and by the Christ all the families on earth will be blessed:

NKJV (Genesis 28:14) 14 Also your (Abraham’s) descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

On the day of Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit was poured out, Peter spoke to the Jews that the promise to Abraham relates to those who have been baptized in the name of Christ:

NKJV (Acts 2:38-39) 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

Who now belongs, in these days, to the offspring of Abraham?

  • The offspring of Abraham

All who are baptized ‘consciously’, are also all heirs, according to Galatians:

NKJV (Galatians 3: 26-29) 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

The promise was made to Abraham for all who are ‘clothed’ with Christ, so to all baptized heirs.
They are the offspring of Abraham and with that, children of God:

NKJV (Romans 9: 7-8) 7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.

The offspring of Abraham consists of Christians, both Jews as of non-Jews.

  • On earth, Jesus lives on – so to speak – in His disciples

The way Jesus showed love and the message that Jesus taught, is exactly what has been taken over by His disciples, but each with his own abilities. (Romans 12: 4-5)
Disciples of Jesus are an example, they are the light of the world: (Matthew 5: 14-16)

NKJV (1 John 1: 3) 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

For this reason, Jesus baptized disciples form the ‘body of Christ’ worldwide:

HerzSt (1 Corinthians 12: 12,27) 12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ….. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.

‘The body of Christ’ includes both the great crowd and the group of 144,000 sanctified. According to the Scriptures, the saints even have the privilege to reign with Jesus. (Rev. 5:10)

  • Celebrating the Lord’s Supper

Communion means having something together or partaking, sharing or joining together.

To show annually, to belong to the body of Christ as individual members, all baptized heirs have ‘communion’ with the body and blood of Christ:

NKJV (1 Corinthians 10:16) 16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
NKJV (John 6: 54 ) 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

Whoever will have ‘communion’ will receive a resurrection on the last day with certainty.
Unbaptized children of Christian parents are sanctified by the faith of their parents and are present, but do not participate in the symbols of the Lord’s Supper:

NKJV (1 Corinthians 7:14) 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

The celebration of the Lord’s Supper can also be celebrated in personal circles:

NKJV (Matthew 18:20) 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

The date 14 Nisan according to the Hebrew Calendar:
https://www.chabad.org/calendar/view/month.asp?tdate=4/19/2019

In 2019 the Lord’s Supper (14 Nisan) falls on Friday, April 19, 2019, after sunset.

Take – as a baptized Christian – on April 19th after sunset with prayer and in all humility and gratitude of the symbols, as Jesus has asked us.
God’s blessing for all our Christian brothers and sisters, who understand that they ‘form the body of Christ, to participate together in the Lord’s Supper.