P1 - Comparing and contrasting the Rapture & 2nd advent of Jesus Christ

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord."

Revelation 19:11 "And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war."

 

Noting the similarities between the rapture and 2nd advent of Jesus Christ

Over the passing of time I have found that noting the differences and similarities between the rapture and Christ's second advent aids greatly in understanding what the Bible has to say on whether or not the rapture will occur before, mid-way through or after the tribulation period.  As a general rule, post-tribulational believers will focus only on the similarities and virtually equate the two events, whereas mid-tribulational and moreso pre-tribulational believers (like myself) will note the similarities and also list the clear differences between the two events.   In today's post we aim to show the similarities between the rapture or catching away of the church and the second advent or coming of Jesus Christ. Below I will simply list the similarities and verse references in a convenient color coded fashion, with some brief remarks following the comparison:

Similarities between rapture & 2nd Advent

1. Both have the Lord appearing in clouds. 1 Thess 4:17 vs Matthew 24:30; Luke 21:27; Rev 11:19, 14:14

2. Both have righteous people being raised from the dead. 1 Thess 4:16-17 vs Rev 20:4

3. Both are described in the language of Jesus “coming”. John 14:3, 1 Thess 4:13 vs Matt 24:42; Lk 21:27

4. Both have an uncertainty as to when they will begin. 1 Cor 15:52, 2 Thess 2:1-3 vs Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32

5. Both will affect the entire world. 2 Thess 2:7 vs 2 Thess 2:8

6. Both mark the end of things, the rapture will conclude the church age and 2nd advent will mark the end of the tribulation.

How a post-tribulationalist may regard the above similarities

As a former post-tribulationalist, I found the above similarities to be over-whelming proof for the assertion that the rapture would occur simultaneously with the second advent or coming of Jesus Christ. In typical logical fashion I probably would had considered the above observations as follows:

Premise#1 The rapture and 2nd advent have similar characteristics, meaning they're one event



Premise #2 The second advent will occur at the end of the tribulation period



Therefore: The rapture will occur at the end of the tribulation period.

A Pre-tribulationalist counter-response and alternative explanation of the above similarities
The problem with the above reasoning is in how I defined the word "similar".  Without going into long technicalities, the mistake I made was in saying "similar" means the "same". For instance, being from Pennsylvania, I can tell you first hand that though the Pittsburg Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles might be "similar" in that they are football teams, who are in the NFL and who are stationed in PA, nonetheless their similarities cease and the differences are far more numerous (ask any of their respective fans!) Similarity does not mean "sameness". Apples and oranges might very well be fruit, however they must be distinguished, since an apple is not an orange nor an orange an apple.



Pre-tribulationalists readily acknowledge that there are similarities between the rapture and 2nd advent, citing among other reasons that the rapture represents a "first stage" and the 2nd advent represents a "second stage" of Christ's raising of righteous saints (church-age saints in the rapture, Old Testament saints and tribulation martyrs in the 2nd advent).

The reader is invited to come back tomorrow, where will look more at the differences between these two events, and how such comparisons aid in understanding the Bible's teaching on end-time events.

More tomorrow.....

P3 - A pastor gives six reasons why you can know that today's Bibles are God's word - Conclusions

Matthew 5:17-18 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” (NASB)
Introduction and review: 
As a pastor, I am constantly pouring over the text repeatedly, prayerfully and studiously asking the following questions: What is it saying? What does it mean? Where is Christ in this text? And how do I apply it to my life? The words of the Bible are my life, because they connect me to the life, voice and Person of Jesus Christ. Spiritual and physical life hang upon whether the words before me are words of God or words of men.

For the past couple of days we have laid out the following six reasons as to why you can know that today's Bibles are God's Word:
 
1. Jesus said so


2. Evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls


3. Amazing agreement between the ancient copies and versions of the Old Testament.




4. The Historic Christian position has been that the Bible in its copies and translations has the authority of being God's inerrant and infallible Word


5. The copies and translations of the New Testament are in remarkable agreement with one another, showing no essential loss as to the message, doctrines and remarkable preservation of the words of God.


6. Being that God cannot lie, the original manuscripts of the Old and New Testaments had to be without error.


I invite the reader to preview back through the previous two posts to gain the overall thrust of the above six reasons.1


Final thoughts


As we close out today's post and this series, I leave the reader with a quote from a leading evangelical scholar, Dr. Wayne Grudem, who states the following about the reliability of the manuscripts and translations of the Bible:1
“For most practical purposes, then, the current published scholarly texts of the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament are the same as the original manuscripts. Thus, when we say that the original manuscripts were inerrant, we are also implying that over 99 percent of the words in our present
manuscripts are also inerrant, for they are exact copies of the originals. Furthermore,
we know where the uncertain readings are (for where there are no textual variants we
have no reason to expect faulty copying of the original).”It is the hope of this blogger that the above post has proven encouraging and useful to the reader in understanding that the Bibles we have today can still be deemed the word(s) of God. Furthermore, knowing the status of the long transmission history of the Old and New Testament, this author can say with full confidence that the Bibles we have today carry with them the authority of being the inerrant and infallible word of God. They do not merely contain the words of God, but are so. With whatever variations there are among the manuscripts, such differences bow their proverbial knees to the Christ of whom the words that God has seen fit to preserve down to our generation speaks forth and clearly portrays.

Endnotes:
1.http://pastormahlon.blogspot.com/2014/03/p1-pastor-gives-six-reasons-why-you-can.html


2. Wayne Grudem. Systematic Theology. Zondervan. 1994.

P2 - A pastor gives six reasons why you can know that today's Bibles are God's word

Matthew 5:17-18 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” (NASB)
Introduction: The words that are my life                                                                     
As a pastor, I am constantly pouring over the text repeatedly, prayerfully and studiously asking the following questions: What is it saying? What does it mean? Where is Christ in this text? And how do I apply it to my life? The words of the Bible are my life, because they connect me to the life, voice and Person of Jesus Christ. Spiritual and physical life hang upon whether the words before me are words of God or words of men.

With the above introduction, I aim to offer six reasons as to why you can believe and trust that the English version or translation you are studying, reading or applying are the words of God. Yesterday we focused upon
the following three reasons:
1. Jesus said so
2. Evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls
3. Amazing agreement between the ancient copies and versions of the Old Testament.


In today's post we will focus on three more reasons as to why you can know that today's Bibles are God's word.


1. The Historic Christian position on the scriptures has been that they are the inerrant and infallible Word of God

Here is a demonstration of how the historic Christian Church from the very beginning has held to the flawless character of the scriptures (i.e inerrancy) as rooted in the flawless character of God who cannot lie:

1. Clement of Rome: “The utterances of the Holy Ghost” (95 A.D)


2. Clement of Alexandria “Receive from God through the scriptures” (150-211 A.D)


3. Origien notes that the authorship of the Holy Spirit precludes mistakes of the human authors (185-250)


4. Irenaeus “Scripture is the perfection of God’s words” (200 A.D)


5. Polycarp “Scripture is the voice of the most high God” (65-155 A.D)


6. Tertullian “writings and words of God” (160-225 A.D)

7. Samuel Rutherford “Bible is surer than a direct oracle from heaven” (1600-1661)


8. Luther notes that the “scriptures are the throne upon which Christ presides over His church” (16th century)


9. Richard Baxter (1615-1691); Calvin (1483-1546); Knox (1509-1564); Wesley (1714-1770) all affirm this doctrine.

Many of the above ancient and more recent Christian leaders have notes in their commentaries where they cite knowledge of different readings and the process they undertook to determine which words were most likely the original. Having personally read many of their writings, it is very interesting that these men arrive at the conclusion that not one doctrine or truth has been lost in the 1500 year hand-copied transmission history of the New Testament (or the even longer transmission history of the Old Testament).







2. The overall agreement between the copies and translations of the New Testament.
In comparative studies of ancient documents, if one can attain even 90% agreement between hand-copied manuscripts and find dozens of such documents for a given writing, there is a general good feeling about the reliability and preservation of the writing of that philosopher or sage. In the case of the Old Testament we have roughly over 3,000 manuscripts of the Hebrew text alone, and somewhere in the neighborhood of 95% agreement. 


In the case of the Greek New Testament and its ancient versions, we have 15,000 to 20,000 examples (this includes nearly 5700 Greek manuscripts stretching from the 2nd century all the way into the post-reformation period).1 However through the science of textual criticism, we can determine well within 99% certainty what the original text looked like. Furthermore, not one doctrine of Christianity is compromised or altered. Hence we can say with conviction that the Bibles we have today carry the authority of infallibility and inerrancy that would had been the original autographs.

3. God cannot lie, which is why we state that the original manuscripts were without error. This point is important, being that whenever we say a document is God’s word, we are saying every word, and every part of that document is always true and trustworthy (stating of inerrancy and infallibility in positive senses). (Titus 1:2) You cannot derive reliable, trustworthy copies from error laden originals. Too often hostile critics point out the variants in manuscript copies as proof that the original texts had to had been error filled themselves. However their hasty generalization lies in the fact that those differences derive not from the original sources, but the process of copying itself. Furthermore, variants of spelling and word order do not equal factual and reporting error on matters of history, personages or general scientific facts. Would not the textual stream of both Old and New Testament reflect far less stability if that were the case? The remarkable stability of the textual streams of Old and New Testaments in comparison to other documents of antiquity demonstrate that the source documents were indeed reliable and without error.


More tomorrow....
Endnotes:
1. Furthermore, even between a manuscript such as Codex Siniaticus (325 A.D), which is considered part of the older Alexandrian textual tradition, versus, say Erasmus’ Greek New Testament, based upon available Byzantine Greek manuscripts of the middle ages, there is only 2% difference. The differences and variations between the thousands of Greek manuscripts (5688 as of this writings) are expected for hand-copied texts.

P1 - A pastor gives six reasons why you can know that today's Bibles are God's word

Matthew 5:17-18 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” (NASB)
 Introduction: The words that are my life                                                                     
As a pastor, I am constantly pouring over the text repeatedly, prayerfully and studiously asking the following questions: What is it saying? What does it mean? Where is Christ in this text? And how do I apply it to my life? The words of the Bible are my life, because they connect me to the life, voice and Person of Jesus Christ. Spiritual and physical life hang upon whether the words before me are words of God or words of men.

With the above introduction, I aim to offer over the next couple of days six reasons as to why you can believe and trust that the English version or translation you are studying, reading or applying are the words of God. Today we will focus on the first three of those reasons:

1. Jesus says so.
In the text above, Jesus is asserting that not one “jot” or “tittle” or “smallest letter” or “least stroke of the men” shall pass away. Those statements refer to the characteristics of the Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament. Let the reader note just how small of differences there are between the letters in Jesus’ illustration:

a. The jot or “smallest” Hebrew letter being the “yod” (י)

b. The “smallest stroke” being the little tail distinguishing the “daleth” (ד) (the ‘d’ sound in the Hebrew) and the caph (ך) (the ‘k’ sound in Hebrew).

Jesus’ statement is fascinating due to the fact that He and the apostles would had been utilizing the Greek translation of the Old Testament (The Septuagint) rather than the Hebrew. The Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament were used mainly by the Scribes and Pharisees in the first century. Jesus’ comments referred to those copies (and of course the Greek translation, the Septuagint). Thus according to Jesus, there was no essential loss of God’s words or message from the original autographs of the original Hebrew/Aramaic texts to the Greek translations. 1 Jesus' logic is inescapable for us living in the 21st century:
-Jesus saw the translations of His day as being the Word of God
-We have translations of the Bible today
-Therefore the translations of our day are the Word of God

2. Dead Sea Scrolls. For the Hebrew Bible, the oldest complete manuscript copies that existed were from the early Medieval period. In 1947 the world of scholarship was historically altered when a shepherd boy hunting for some goats through a rock into a cave and heard a shattering of pottery. To the shock of the scholarly community, that cave, located in the vicinity of the Dead Sea, contained well preserved documents of the ancient Qumran Jewish community. For the next several years, 11 such caves would yield a treasure trove of manuscripts and copies of every Old Testament book (except Esther). Chief among them is the famous Hebrew “Isaiah Scroll”, which upon close inspection was discovered to be within 95% agreement with the later Hebrew manuscript copies made nearly ten centuries later!2 Though each of those hand copied Biblical manuscripts may have slight differences between one another, whenever you look at the overall history of the copying of Biblical manuscripts, we can honestly say that not one major doctrine or fact is affected. Again compare the attitudes of Jesus, the apostles and the early Jewish people and the historic Christian church, and you will discover that they never saw the translations as being anything less than the inerrant, infallible Word of God.  

3. The overall agreement between the copies and translations of the Old Testament.
Whenever one studies the Greek version of the Old Testament (the Septuagint, also designated the LXX), the Hebrew text, and an Old Hebrew version called the Samaritan Pentateuch, one discovers that in cross comparison situations there is virtually over 95% agreement. In Old Testament textual criticism, the bulk of issues surround solving differences of harmonization. Having studied Hebrew for some twenty years, I can tell the reader first hand that when one studies the literature, the texts themselves and compares them with English translations sold in today’s bookstores, there are no worries.


The Bibles that you and I read, hear, preach, teach and pray through every week and rely upon in life are the Word of God.


More Tomorrow....
Endnotes:
1. As we carry forward in this post, the reader will get a chance to see more specifically what I mean by such statements. Clearly Jesus taught that the words in the manuscripts He had access to were reliable and faithful to what would had been the wording of the original text. Differences in the manuscripts – yes. Loss of God’s words and meaning - no.


2. A specific example is comparing Isaiah 53 between the Dead Sea Scroll manuscript (1QIsaa) and the Masoretic Texts of the early Medieval period. Clearly the preservation of God’s words made it through a thousand years of time.

Next Big Thing #3: Earth's tribulation and Christian rewards

Revelation 19:1-2 "After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,
“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; 2 because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.”

Revelation 19:7-8 "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” 8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints."

Introduction:
We have been doing a periodic series called; "Next Big Things" - that is to say - events that will impact every person living or who has ever lived.1 In the two passages we just looked at above, we see two simultaneous events that will take place following the rapture of the church: the tribulation period, culminating in the judgment of the world system that is typified in what is called "Babylon the Great" in Revelation 19:1-6. As the tribulation is occurring, the scene switches up to heaven and a raptured church getting ready to be wedded to Jesus in Revelation 19:7-10. On earth the final seven years of history will experience tribulation, with the church up in heaven undergoing reward and preparation. In today's post we want to understand this "Next Big Thing" following the catching away of the church, namely "Earth's Tribulation and
Christian Rewards". 

Earth's tribulation following the rapture and preceeding the Lord's Return to earth.
When one scans through the chapters of Revelation 6-18 leading up to the crescendo of hallelujahs in 19:1-6, the rejoicing is over the fact that the enemies of God have been soundly defeated. The late Dr. W.A Criswell notes: "What a passage! What a consummation! What an anticipation! The passage begins with four Hallelujah choruses. Two of them are retrospective, two of them are prospective. The first Hallelujah is over the destruction of .... Mystery Babylon, the scarlet woman with the golden cup in her hand. When she is destroyed, all heaven says, “Hallelujah!” 2

In a series of repeated cycles we see the seven year tribulation period described in Revelation 6-18.3 All these chapters of course lead up to the reason as to why all of heaven is praising God for the fact that God's purposes on planet earth have been fulfilled in the tribulation period. The chart below summarizes what we are talking about:

________      ^    _________________________
Now           Rapture?  First 3 1/2 years  Second 3 1/2 years  Return
                                               7 year tribulation period         of Jesus
                                       Rev 6-11; 12-14; 15-18; 19:1-6
         

As we scan the nearly 20 passages of scripture in both Old and New Testaments regarding this time of earth's tribulation, here is what we discover:

1. Extreme. It will be an unprecedented time of human history, occurring at the end of this age. Daniel 12:1; Matthew 24:21

2. Judgment. Over five times we see reference to the wrath of God on this world in Revelation 6-19.

3. Preparation. The preparation of Israel to meet her Messiah. Revelation 1:7

4. Rebellion.  A Tyrannical ruler will attempt to blaspheme God and lead the whole world astray in outright rebellion again God. Revelation 13

5. Intensity. It will be divided into two equal halves, with the latter half called the "Great Tribulation" and ending in a most intense way called "The day of the Lord", which will occur when Christ returns to earth. Revelation 19:1-6.

6. Warning. For those who evidence no concern about the impending coming tribulation, this truth can expose their false profession and be used of the Spirit of God to grant them repentance whereby they may believe and be saved. Romans 5:8-9

This is what will be taking place on earth during the tribulation period.  But what about the events in heaven? What will be occurring simultaneously in heaven during this same time period? It will be during this period that the church, having been raptured or caught up by Jesus, will be standing before Him to receive heavenly rewards.

Heavenly rewards to raptured Christians
We read in Revelation 19:7-8 "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” 8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints." It would seem then that the church will be raptured for two main purposes spelled out below: 

Christians' rewards in the future serve to motivate Christians in the present
Christians being rewarded for the works they did following their salvation is revealed in scripture to provide motivation for Godly living in the present. I recall one night we had a talent night for the children at the church. All of the adults had gathered together on one side of the gym, with the other half reserved for the various talents to be displayed. A table full of ribbons & rewards was situated next to the event.  As soon as a child would perform their talent, the crowd would cheer and the children would run over to claim their prize. No one could fault neither the church nor the children for receiving rewards for their willing participation in that event. 

1 Corinthians 3:14-15 states: "If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." What will be entailed in these rewards? Scripture describes the rewards in various ways. One way is through the notion of various "ornaments" or "crowns" that Christians will be given to cast at the Savior's feet as represented by the actions of the 24 elders in Revelation 4:10.4 Just as we saw in the case with the children above, it should not be thought improper for Jesus to want to use rewards to motivate His people unto godliness.  Ultimately we discover that the true reward behind the rewards will be to see Him as He is. (1 John 3:1-3)

A Heavenly wedding in the future should increase the Christian's love in the present

As we mentioned a moment ago, one of the terms used to describe the reward system at the judgment seat of Christ is that of "crowns"  or "ornaments". Quite interestingly enough the word for "crown" in the passage listed above can refer either to an award received at an athletic competition or ornaments worn by a bride and groom in a Jewish wedding. As the church is brought up to heaven in the rapture to the Father's house (John 14:1-3), she appears before the judgment seat of Christ to be prepared and "decked out" in wedding garments befitting her completion of redemption won for her by her Bridegroom.

I can recall years ago watching a wedding show with my wife where the wedding exceeded a million dollars.  The people were so opulent that the father of the bride had hired a person called a "bride dresser", whose job was to put expensive jewelry on the bride herself and her dress.  Why the expense? To prepare the bride for the meeting of her groom. 

The reason why the scriptures combine the imagery of rewards with that of decking out a bride is that in-as-much we are being rewarded for good works done here on earth, the energy used in performing those works is provided by the Father of the bride. Each Christian in their glorified resurrected body, having been rewarded, will shine in various levels like sequins on the gown of the bride - the church.  All will be enjoying Christ's presence in differing measure and yet be loved all equally by Him both as individually chosen people and corporately as His chosen bride. Knowing that we will be escorted out of this world into heaven should motivate us to live for and love Jesus Christ. 

Conclusion:
We have considered today the earth's tribulation and heavenly rewards for Christians following her rapture into heaven. To picture what we have discussed, we can now add to the diagram we had mentioned earlier:
                -----Christians rewarded & prepared------
                                      for what will be their marriage to Jesus
                                                  Revelation 19:7-10


________        ^    _________________________
Now           Rapture?  First 3 1/2 years  Second 3 1/2 years  Return
                                               7 year tribulation period         of Jesus
                                       Rev 6-11; 12-14; 15-18; 19:1-6


As the reader can see, both events will occur simultaneously following the rapture event. The earthly tribulation, when studied throughout the scripture, can be described in six words: extreme, judgment, preparation, rebellion, intensity & warning. The simultaneous heavenly rewarding or Bema Seat for raptured Christians will aim at reward and preparing the church for her eventual wedding to Christ. Knowing such truths should motivate Christians to both live for and love their Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Endnotes:
1. http://pastormahlon.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-next-big-thing-death-hell-or-heaven.html

http://pastormahlon.blogspot.com/2014/02/p1-next-big-thing-catching-away-of.html

http://pastormahlon.blogspot.com/2014/02/p2-next-big-thing-catching-away-of.html
2. http://www.wacriswell.com/transcript/?thisid=5A34409B-6D50-4E1F-A9A91A14A924E25C

3. From Revelation 6-11 we see Christ acting forth to unfold the seals and trumpets in his conquering of the world's kingdoms. Then in Revelation 12-14 we see more focus on the same time period yet again, with the emphasis being upon Jesus' decimation of Satan's plots and his rulers the Anti-Christ and false prophet. Then once more we see in Revelation 15-18 the same period, particularly the latter half, being the time of God's judgment upon the world system or regime Anti-Christ, Babylon the Great.

4. Five such crowns are mentioned throughout the New Testament: imperishable crown (1 Corinthians 9:25); crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4-5); crown of life (Revelation 2:10); crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8) and a soul-winners crown (1 Thessalonians 2:19). These "good works" are those deeds done by believer's post-conversion up until the time of death. 

P2 - Meet Jesus Christ - The Son of God

Matthew 4:3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

Introduction:
In light of the recently released movie entitled: "Son of God", it was felt by this blogger to give the reader an overview of this significant title for Jesus Christ. Movies and art in general can sometimes enable us to visualize, become emotionally awakened and reflect on what is being taught about the scripture and about Jesus Christ. However the truth of the scriptures must still be unpacked either in preaching, teaching or writing in order to truly know the scriptures and Jesus Christ. The aim is simply three-fold:

1. The meaning of the words in the Biblical title for Jesus: "Son of God"

2. Trace the development of this title through the New Testament

3. How the title "Son of God" explains Jesus Christ so that we can love Him more

In yesterday's post we covered the first main thought. In today's post we will conclude this brief study by noting the final two main thoughts of our study.  

Tracing the development of this title through the New Testament
A quick search through any standard Bible concordance will find the title "Son of God" being used nearly 50 times. The first occurrence is found in Matthew 4:3, the opening verse of today's post. The final mention of this title is in Revelation 2:18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this". 

It is interesting that in Matthew's Gospel, every appearance of this specific title "Son of God" comes from the mouths of Jesus' enemies - which is telling. Why? They clearly are frightened or shocked to be in the presence of utter Deity. (compare Matthew 4:3; 4:6; 8:29; 26:63; 27:40; 27:54) Mark uses the title in the first verse of his Gospel and John uses it in the key verse of John 20:31 in summarizing his Gospel. Luke records the angel's explanation of the virgin birth to Mary in Luke 1:35 - "The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God."

Hebert Lockyer mentions other titles that are similar and related "Son of" titles to the title "Son of God" that the reader may find edifying to their faith:

1. His Son, Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:7
2. Son of the Father. 2 John 3
3. Son of the Blessed. Mark 14:61
4. Son of the Highest. Luke 1:32
5. Son of the Most High God. Mark 5:7
6. My Beloved Son. Matthew 3:17, Mark 12:6
7. Only Begotten Son. John 1:14,18; 3:16
8. Son of Man Matthew 8:20
9. Son of Abraham. Matthew 1:1
10. Son of David Matthew 1:1; 21:9
11. Son of Joseph. Luke 3:23; 4:22
12. Son of Mary. Matthew 1:25; Mark 6:3


As one travels throughout the rest of the New Testament, clearer and more robust statements appear in using this title to describe the exalted Divine nature of Jesus Christ in His post-resurrection existence. Passages such as Romans 1:4 tie this title to the truth of Christ's resurrection from the dead and Hebrews 4:14 and 7:3 use the title "Son of God" to describe Christ's position of exaltation at the right hand of the Father as His co-equal. 

How the title "Son of God" explains Jesus Christ so that we can love Him more
In seeing the meaning of the words within this title "Son of God", as well as tracing how this glorious title unfolded in the New Testament, what applications can be given for increasing our appreciation of Jesus Christ as "The Son of God"?

a. Rules all things. Matt 4:3; 27:54
To know that He rules all things means there is not one think in my life that can ever be beyond Him.

b. Real source of salvation. Mark 1:1; John 20:31; Acts 8:37
To know He is the real source of salvation demonstrates the assurance every believer has in enduring to the end.

c. Refuge. Hebrews 4:13-16; 7:3,25; 1 John 5:10-12
Whether in times of prayer or hardship, Jesus as the "Son of God" is the refuge to find hope and protection.

d. Returning for His church. Revelation 2:18-19,25.
The blessed hope for every Christian is to see their Lord "face to face" and to know that He is coming back for every choice believer who has freely chosen Him by grace through faith. (Luke 18:1-5; Philippians 3:20-21; Titus 2:13)

Conclusion:
The hope has been that this short two-day study has shed much light on the identity of Jesus Christ, The Son of God. In this study we have considered the following points:

1. The meaning of the words in the Biblical title for Jesus: "Son of God"

2. Tracing the development of this title through the New Testament



3. How the title "Son of God" explains Jesus Christ so that we can love Him more

P1- Meet Jesus Christ - The Son of God

Matthew 4:3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

Introduction:
In light of the recently released movie entitled: "Son of God", it was felt by this blogger to give the reader an overview of this significant title for Jesus Christ. Movies and art can sometimes enable us to visualize, become emotionally awakened and reflect on what is being taught about the scripture and about Jesus Christ. However the truth of the scriptures must still be unpacked either in preaching, teaching or writing in order to truly know the scriptures and Jesus Christ. The aim of today and tomorrow is three-fold:

1. Unfold the meaning of the words in the Biblical title for Jesus: "Son of God"

2. Trace the development of this title through the New Testament



3. See how the title "Son of God" explains Jesus Christ so that we can love Him more

In today's post we will focus on the first main thought and cover the other remaining two points tomorrow.

1. The meaning of the words in the Biblical title for Jesus: "Son of God"
Each word in the title of Jesus "Son of God" carries much freight and meaning. We can note the following observations of each of these three words:
a. "Son"
According to one Greek dictionary, the word translated Son ("hoo-we-os") is sometimes used of those - "who are bound to a personality by close, non-material ties; it is this personality that has promoted this relationship and given it its character." 1 Thus to be the "Son" means to have the same qualities, traits and nature as the person to whom the Son is deemed to be in relationship. Thus for Jesus to be "Son of God", when considered in context, is tantamount to us saying: "Jesus Christ is equal to God". The two other words "of" and "God" below will bear this out. 

b. "of"
The little word "of" defines some type of relationship or association between "Son" and "God". When understanding how the phrase "Son of God" is used to describe Jesus Christ, we can note its use in the associated term "begotten" and its usage in the kingship of Israel. 






We often see in the Bible the concepts of "birth" and "begotten". Concerning Jesus' humanity, he is considered to be the "son of Mary" by way of birth in Mark 6:3 and yet in regards to His Deity, John 3:16 deems Him as the "only-begotten Son of God". Birthing is concerned with the origin of a created being in time - which is why for example we place such an emphasis on one's birthday. With regards to Jesus' humanity, He is the virgin born son of Mary. (Luke 1:35; Mark 6:3) 



Begetting deals more with the impartation of qualities and characteristics from the begetter to the begotten and is not as concerned with time. In a modern day sense, when I say: my three sons are "sons of Mahlon", I am describing them as having the same nature and characteristics as me - i.e they were "begotten". The one who begets defines the nature and characteristics of the one who is begotten, and vice-versa. When we see Jesus as "The Son of God", the Bible is using doctrinal shorthand to say: "There has never been a time in eternity when Jesus was not in a co-equal, co-eternal relationship with God."2 



The term "Son of" is often used in royal titles, such as Psalm 2:7 where David sees in prophetic vision the Father saying to the Son in eternity: “I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord:He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You." To call Jesus the "Son of God" simply means that His role is not bound by time, is a title, shares the same qualities as the Begetter (The Father) and is based upon an Eternal decree.

c. "God"  
So what kind of God is God? What kind of nature does God have? To use Psalm 139 as a basis for answering that question: God is omni-scient or all-knowing (Ps 139:1-6); omni-present or everywhere present (139:7-12);  omni-potent or all-powerful(139:13-16); omni-benevolent or all-good(139:17-22) and omni-sapient or all-wise (139:23-24). Thus when we speak of Jesus Christ being the "Son of God", we are saying that touching His Divine nature, He possess the same exact qualities as what is described by the term "God". Herbert Lockyer summarizes this title quite well: "No title of our blessed Lord is more wonderful the "the Son of God", because it represents to us the mode of existence of the Second Person of the Trinity, and His relation to the First. Deriving His own eternal being from God the Father (John 6:57; 7:29)....as God's Eternal Son, Jesus came as God's representative to do God's Will in the world, and the Vehicle of God's grace to guilty men."3
Jesus Christ is indeed more awesome than we can ever think or imagine.  Thanks be to God we have the inerrant, infallible word of God to explain Him to us!

More tomorrow.........

Endnotes:
1. Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt and F.W Gingrich. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. University of Chicago Press. 2nd Ed. 1957. Page 833 


2. Thus for eternity the Son has been, and never ceased being at anyone time, even in His incarnation, the co-equal, co-eternal "Son of God".  He entered into time over 2,000 years ago, took upon himself human flesh to be the "Son of Mary" by way of the virgin birth. Thus He ever remained God and at the same time began being a human being from the virgin birth conception. (Luke 1:35; Romans 9:5)








3. Herbert Lockyer, D.D. All the Divine names and Titles in the Bible. Zondervan. Page 250.