Believers Will Escape God's Wrath - Biblical Foreshadows of the Rapture

 - By Beginning and End -

 

The Rapture is real and is foreshadowed throughout Scripture.

This is the Second Article in the Beginning and End Rapture Series

 

This article will look at several Biblical foreshadows of the Rapture in Bible prophecy that show that God always removes His people from harm when He is preparing to supernaturally punish the unbelieving heathen world. In Part 1 of the Rapture Series, we examined the Day of The Lord, the Biblical prophecy event that starts the end times. The Day of The Lord (also known as the Great Tribulation) is the outpouring out God's wrath on the unbelieving world in a series of supernatural judgments in the final seven years before Armageddon and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

 

The Rapture, the supernatural removal of faithful believers in Jesus Christ from the Earth, occurs just as the Day of The Lord is about to begin. The Church - all true, born again believers in Jesus Christ, will be "caught up" in the air and rescued just before the wrath of God comes. By looking at Old Testament types and shadows, God's method of saving His people before judgment becomes apparent and foreshadows timing of the Rapture of the church in the prophetic timeline.

 

1. Noah's Ark and the Flood - A Preview of the Rapture

But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that [Noah] entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (Matthew 24: 37-39)

 

For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished. (2 Peter 2:4-9)

 

The account of Noah and the flood is a foreshadow of the Rapture of the church. Jesus Christ said the world will be living just like the "days of Noah" when discussing the end times and the final years before His Second Coming. During the days before the flood, the world was carrying on with normal activities and falling into rampant sin, accelerated by the presence of the Nephilim, angelic-human hybrids who had overrun the Earth (see our article "Nephilim - Giants in The Bible" for more information). God was so dismayed at the state of humanity and its impending loss of a chance to have a fully human Savior, that the flood judgment was set to come upon the world. The world was completely unaware of this coming judgment, but Noah and his family were aware of it (thanks to God). This is the same state of the world before the Day of The Lord /Great Tribulation. The world will be carrying on as usual, deep in sinful rebellion against God, and sudden judgment will come at the opening of the 6th Seal of Revelation.

 

The 6th seal plus the subsequent trumpet and vial judgments paint a frightening picture of the end times. There will be devastating global earthquakes. Waters will be poisoned. Millions upon millions will die in plagues and disasters. Evil fallen angels will return to Earth and be permitted to interact with humanity and the reign of the Antichrist will begin. Life will go from being very normal to anything but! This will all be a part of God's judgment on unbelievers or those who claim to be Christian but were not truly born again. But the true Christians will escape these judgments via the Rapture. The account of Noah's ark is a foreshadow of God's pattern for protecting His faithful believers.

 

Noah Escapes God's Wrath

 

As the verse above from 2 Peter states: "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations." "Temptations" here means "afflictions" or "intense suffering." Noah "found grace" with God because he was one of the last true believers in God on the Earth (in addition to being 100% human and not corrupted by Nephilim). God warned Noah about the coming flood and instructed him to build the ark, so that they could be protected in the time of His wrath on the world. And just as Noah's family were saved from the judgment of the flood poured out on the sinful world so will the faithful believers in Jesus Christ at the Rapture be removed from the Earth just before the judgments of the Day of The Lord begins.

 

Noah's Entry into the Ark

 

Genesis 7:1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation... 4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. 5 And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.

 

Noah's entry into the Ark was 7 days before the flood started. Verse 5 makes it clear that Noah obeyed the Lord's instruction. In Bible prophecy, a "day" often is symbolic of a year and this verse foreshadows the raptured church being transported to Heaven, to reside in God's dwelling for 7 years while the wrath of God is poured out on the Earth.

 

God's Invitation

 

Notice that in verse 1 of chapter 7 it reads: "And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation." God literally invited Noah into the ark to be with Him. The language of "come...into" indicates that the God's presence was inside the ark. This is similar to when the Apostle John was raptured to heaven at the invitation of God in the Book of Revelation: "1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither"

 

The Ark, a type and shadow of Heaven, is similar to the Ark of the Covenant, where God's presence also resided: "And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony," (Exodus 25:22). The consistent theme is the believer being invited to be in the safety of the presence of God.

 

The Door

 

An interesting aspect of the Flood account is that when Noah and his family enter the ark, it is God who shuts the door: "16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in." A heavenly door is also a symbol used in reference to the Rapture. In the verse above from Revelation, the Apostle John saw a door open in Heaven before he was raptured. Jesus, when addressing the faithful church of Philadelphia in the Book of Revelation stated:

 

And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name...Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. (Revelation 3:7-10).

 

Jesus describes Himself as the one who opens and shuts the door. And as a reward for their faithfulness, the church of Philadelphia is promised to be protected from the " hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." Notice the word "temptation" is used once again in reference to the wrath of the Great Tribulation. As Noah was protected from the flood that afflicted the whole world, so will believers be safe in Heaven with Jesus during the judgments of the Day of The Lord/Great Tribulation. And just as God the Father shut Noah in the Ark, Jesus will shut in his faithful believers behind a door in Heaven during the wrath of God in the Great Tribulation.

 

2. Lot Escapes Sodom

 

Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. - Luke 17:28-30

 

And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished" - 2 Peter 2:6-9

 

Lot was a believer in God living in a wicked, sinful city. When angels came to visit Lot, all of the men and boys in the city of Sodom demanded the male angels to be given to them for sexual relations (a similar to the illicit angelic-human unions in Noah's time). Lot was "vexed" (or upset) with the extreme sin of the city because he was a believer in God and His righteousness. The Lord was angered with Sodom and Gomorrah so much so that He was going to destroy it with fire and brimstone. But before the supernatural punishment took place, God once again warned his faithful follower of the coming judgment by sending the two angels, who appeared as men to let Lot know that he and his family would be spared:

 

12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: 13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it. 14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law. 15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. 16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

 

24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

 

Lot was removed from Sodom by supernatural means (angels personally escorted he and his family out of the city) just prior to the fire and brimstone raining down. The same pattern for the Rapture as seen with Noah emerges: 1) God prepares to pour out His judgment on the wicked. 2) He sends a warning to His faithful followers and 3) the judgment does not come until after the faithful have been safely removed.

 

3. The Passover

 

The Passover account in the book of Exodus took place as God brought His final and worst judgment against Pharaoh and the Egyptians, who were slave masters over the tribes of Israel in the book of Exodus. The Lord was going to send an angel to kill every firstborn son in the Egyptian Empire as a final punishment against the sinful, pagan Pharaoh who oppressed and enslaved God's chosen nation. And The Lord, in commanding Moses, made sure to provide specific instructions for a sacrifice of a lamb so that the Israelites would be protected when the punishment was poured out:

 

And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the [basin], and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the [basin]; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. (Exodus 12:22-23)

 

The pattern and typology of the Rapture is present. The believers are warned by God that a judgment is coming and they are specifically spared the judgment. God commanded the Israelites to put the blood on their doorposts and stay behind their doors and not to come out. Just as it was with Noah and with the Apostle John a door was symbolic of being kept safe during a time of judgment. And as it will be with the Rapture, the believers are saved, suffering no harm, while the unbelievers suffer God's wrath.

4. Moses Speaking to God on Mt. Sinai

And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, 11And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.   And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. (Exodus 19:9-17)

 

In this amazing account from the book of Exodus, The Lord literally descends to Earth to speak to Moses and the 12 tribes of Israel. Notice the parallels to the Rapture description from Bible prophecy. God Himself descended from Heaven in a cloud, just as the 1 Thessalonians states that Jesus Himself will descend from Heaven in a cloud. The people are told in advance that they will gather together to meet The Lord, just as the raptured church will be gathered to meet Jesus in the clouds (also note that Moses is "called up" to meet God in the cloud). They also must prepare for the Lord's arrival by cleaning their clothes. Jesus, in the Book of Revelation praises the church of Sardis for the few believers left in it who: "have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment" (Revelation 3:4-5). Clean garments are symbolic of having the righteousness of Christ that all true born again Christian receive.

 

Another interesting parallel is that God's voice is described as a trumpet. 1 Thessalonians 4 describes the Rapture: "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God.." Contrary to popular interpretations, it is this author's belief that the "trump of God" is not a physical or heavenly instrument. It is God's voice. This passage above from Exodus 19 links God speaking and the sound of the trumpet. In the Septuagint salpiggo is the Geek word for 'trumpet'. A similar connection is made when the Apostle John is raptured to Heaven in Revelation 4: "After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter." In this verse John is hearing the voice of Jesus, resurrected and sitting on His throne in heaven. And Jesus' voice is described as a trumpet with the same Greek word (salpiggo) used for God's voice in Exodus. So the descent of God Himself, the sound of the "trump of God" and the gathering of the believers provide another foreshadow of the future Rapture.

 

5. The Consecration of The Temple Priesthood

 

Leviticus Chapter 8 details the consecration of Aaron and his sons, who were selected by God to be High Priests of the nation of Israel. There were sacrifices done and a ritual cleansing to prepare them for their ministry all done by instruction of God. The nation gathered at the tabernacle (God's dwelling on Earth) and Aaron and his sons were told: "And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation in seven days, until the days of your consecration be at an end: for seven days shall he consecrate you... 35Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days, and keep the charge of the LORD, that ye die not: for so I am commanded." There are foreshadows in this passage as well. The Israelites gathering at the tabernacle for the 7 days the priests are inside. The Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5 calls the Rapture "our gathering" to Jesus Christ. Hebrews chapters 7 and 8 describe Jesus as the High Priest of Christian believers and that the tabernacle was patterned on what takes place in Heaven. At the Rapture, the Church will be in Heaven, God's House, before our High Priest, Jesus Christ. The passage also details instructions to stay behind a shut door for "seven days."

 

6. Rahab

 

The Book of Joshua tells provides the account of Rahab, a gentile woman running a house of prostitution in Jericho, a pagan city that was going to be attacked by the Israelites. God was going to provide a supernatural victory against the city of Jehrico and destroy it. Rahab, in fear of God and belief in His power, helped hide two Israelites spies who were scouting the city before the battle. Joshua, the leader of the Israelites, (who we showed in an earlier article is a foreshadow of Jesus Christ and that the Book of Joshua parallels with the book of Revelation), recognized Rahab's faith and the service she did, risking her own life to protect the Israelite spies all out of belief in the true God of the Bible. Before the attack Joshua gave a stern command once the spies returned:

 

But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her. And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel. And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. (Joshua 6:22-24).

 

Rahab, a faithful believer in God living in a wicked, pagan city was saved and brought out of the city just before God unleashed His wrath and it was burned to the ground, destroyed and cursed. Again we see the same prophetic patterns for the Rapture: the faithful are warned of the coming wrath of God, they are then removed without suffering any harm and then the wrath of God comes down on the unbelievers.

 

7. God's Own Prophecy

 

Isaiah 26 contains a not-often used prophecy about the Rapture:

 

Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD. We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen. Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. (Isaiah 26:17-21)

 

Notice the first two verse reference "birth pangs" and the birthing process. This is the same language used in Matthew 24 to describe the start of the end times (and in Part 1 of this series we explain the symbolic meaning of "birth pangs" in detail). Verses 19 above prophesies that the "dead men shall live" and "arise", indicating that there will be a resurrection. This matches the description of the Rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4, which states that the "dead in Christ rise first." Isaiah 26:19 even says "together with my dead body" referencing the dead body of God rising from the dead (which was fulfilled at the resurrection of Jesus Christ - who is the "firstfruits" of all raptured saints). The dead believers in Christ will indeed be translated (given new, Heavenly bodies) and Raptured to Heaven to be with Jesus.

 

Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.

 

In verse 20 we see instructions to those who are living and told to "enter thou into thy chambers" and "shut thy doors." Again the symbolism of the Rapture is present in the bridal chamber, the door being shut and remaining safely inside until God's "indignation" is finished. Revelation 14:10, in discussing God's end time wrath on those who worship the Antichrist as: "the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation." The "indignation" from the Isaiah 26 verse is clearly a reference to the Day of The Lord/Great Tribulation. And the implication is that while God is punishing sinners and those who have rejected Him, faithful believers in Jesus Christ will be shut away safely in Heaven until the indignation is done.

 

For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

 

Verse 21 lines up with our description of the Day of The Lord as God punishes the unbelieving, sinful world that has rejected Him and the Gospel of Jesus Christ time and time again, in favor of following sin and the deceptions of the Antichrist. This will be the Day of the Lord or Great Tribulation and once again, believers are forewarned, removed and hidden safely before the wrath of God comes on the unbelieving.

 

Conclusion

 

The Rapture will be God's safe removal of His faithful believers before His unleashes His wrath on the sinful, God-rejecting world.   Through types and shadows, the Bible demonstrates God's pattern for rescuing His faithful. In each instance, God warns faithful believers of the coming judgment, they prepare and watch for its arrival and are completely spared and removed from all harm before the judgment of God comes. The Apostle Paul, writing to the Thessalonian church about the end times Day of The Lord judgments said: "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ." The true born again believers in Jesus Christ will not be caught off guard by the Day of The Lord, but will escape safely at the Rapture, meeting Jesus in the clouds and staying in The Father's house for 7 years until Gods wrath is poured out on the sinful world.

 

"And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." - Jesus Christ, Luke 21:35-36.

THE WORD BECAME FLESH

By Pastor Mike Taylor

1 “ God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2  Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3  Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:
4  Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
5  For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
6  And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
7  And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
8  But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
9  Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
10  And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
11  They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
12  And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.”(Hebrews 1:1-12)



Hebrews, considered to be a work of Paul the Apostle addresses the question, “Is Jesus really God?”. For two millennium, the devil has attempted to make Jesus out to be somebody He is not. Through the workings of this master deceiver, there have been many sects of heretical teachings that  blaspheme who Jesus actually was and is....God Almighty!
DECEPTION IN THE EARLY CHURCH

Right after the church was born and was thriving in Jerusalem and spreading far and wide to the Gentile nations, men became deceived in their hearts and attempted to change what was known and written down in Holy Scripture of the Old Testament, as that is all they had for them at the time, until the New Testament writings were compiled in one place. And who was that Old and New Testament written for? Yes, it was for us, the end time church on earth. But men tried to interpret what the apostles taught based on their first hand experience of walking, talking, and eating with our Lord. These men were first person eye witnesses to the sinless life, death and resurrection of the Creator of all living things. This message was passed down by voice and letters written to these churches of their experiences living with the Master.

They saw His miracles. They saw His transfiguration on a mountain speaking with Elijah and Moses. They saw Him heal, and saw Him reach out to the lost and dying world with Good News of the coming Kingdom of God. They saw Him beaten, scorned and yes, die a cruel death. But the wonderful news is, they saw Him alive 3 days after He was laid in a tomb. They came to understand that Jesus was indeed, God in the flesh. These men were eye witnesses to His ascension into the clouds with a command to spread the Gospel to the four corners of the earth. Each of these men died, save one in martyrdom for their witness of being with God in the flesh. But some would not believe their eye witness accounts.
Heresies Enter  the Fledgling Church

During the first century, you had the Gnostics, heretics who believed that Jesus was entered by God when He was baptized by John and the Holy Spirit landed on Him, as a dove, then left Him before He died. Gnosticism is defined as the Hellenization of Christianity. Wikipedia defines Gnosticism thusly:

“Gnosticism (from gnostikos, "learned", from Greek:γνῶσις gnōsis, knowledge) is a modern scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices found among some early Christian and non-Christian groups called "gnostic" ("learned") by Irenaeus and other early Christian leaders. In the past many scholars believed that gnosticism pre-dated Christianity, but now it is generally accepted that gnosticism developed into a coherent movement only in the second century CE.”


These deceivers of the truth, believed that Jesus came to earth to deliver gnosis, or secret knowledge. This flies in the face of the biblical truth that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves, no secret knowledge, no work of charity, being a member of a Christian church, or anything else will grant us eternal life. Nothing but the blood of Jesus Christ can save men. Peter stood up and spoke these words after the day of Pentecost had come to the people who heard them speak in other tongues by God's Holy Spirit.
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”(Acts 4:12)


Another group around the same time were the Docetist who believed that Jesus was a phantom. He was not real, not flesh and blood, and only seemed to be human, but had no reality, but mere semblance.

When the Word became a man, He entered into a new state of being. He was a fleshly person with two natures. The word likeness in the Greek text found in Philippians:

7  “But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”(Philippians 2:7-8)

 “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
8:4  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”(Romans 8:3-4)

Both refer to "that which is made like something else." His humanity was a real likeness. He was not a phantom, as some of the Docetists believed, but His human likeness did not and could not express the whole of His being. Jesus was also God, but His human form could never express the fullness of God, even though He was God.

The denial “that Jesus is the Christ” does not imply that the Docetists thought Jesus was not the Messiah. Rather, the Docetists claimed that Jesus—the Man whom John had heard, seen and touched—was not truly God in the flesh and that the true Christ was an ethereal being in heaven. John argues that such a teaching denies the family relationship of the Father and the Son, obscuring the true nature of God.
Furthermore, in 1st John, John writes, anyone who denies that Jesus was God in the flesh, subject to temptation just like all human beings, “does not have the Father either.” Such a person simply does not understand the Gospel message. 1st John,
22  “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
23  Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.”(1^st John 2:22-23)
He re-emphasizes this very fact in the fifth chapter of the same book:
20 “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.”(1^st John 5:20)


When Paul speaks of who Jesus was on earth, living as a mortal man, he compares Jesus being God made flesh and taking on the likeness of His fellow brethren in Hebrews,
6  “But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him?
7  Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:
8  Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. (speaking of mankind)9  But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
10  For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
11  For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,”(Hebrews 2:6-11)

Unfortunately, there is still false beliefs of who Jesus was, and is...He is God. It survives even today and even more so to try and diminish the Divinity of our Savior and Lord. I had a chance to look on another Christian website who is somebody I respect as a sound biblical teacher, and read some comments at the end of His sermon online. One ladies stance on who our Savior was on earth gave me pause and filled me with sadness...As she went on about what God had revealed to her, one statement jumped out at me that made me have to reply to her and correct her in love from the bible, that she said does not contradict itself. That remark was “Jesus is not God”. Say what? Did I read that right? Yep, I read it right and I had to respond. First her errors are so anti-Biblical and blantant blasphemy I didn't know where to begin. So let's explore what the bible says who this man, Jesus Christ was. Let's start in the Old Testament and compare it to the New.
In the Beginning...Genesis
1  In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”(Genesis 1:1-2)

Jesus is the God of the Old Testament. Before Jesus became man, the Bible called Him the Word. Many places confirm that the God of the Old Testament revealed Himself to men before He became flesh and blood and lived on this earth. John confirmed this when he wrote the first verses of his Gospel....
1” In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”(John 1:1-3)
The Great I AM,..... I AM that I AM
When God came to Moses in the form of the burning bush, that burned and was not consumed,  Moses knelt down and removed His shoes from his feet. Then God identified Himself when  Moses asked who shall I say has sent me? What did God say? Exodus,

13  “And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14  And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”(Exodus 3:13-14)

And what did that God do? With power and mighty wonders for all to see, He brought Israel out of bondage and decimated the Egyptian economy because of their sins and refusal to let His people go.

When we look to Jesus, as He was speaking to the people, He proclaimed who He was, and the people understood and tried to stone Him, because of their unbelief. John,
56  “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

57  Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
58  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM.”.(John 8:56-58)

Jesus was telling them that He was the God of the Old Testament. He was Jehovah, God of their fathers, and the Great I AM that I AM.
ABRAHAM AND ISAAC ON MOUNT MORIAH

In this passage, God stops Abraham from sacrificing his only son, a foreshadow of what our Lord and Savior would do for us. Genesis,
11  “And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
12  And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
13  And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.”(Genesis 22:11-13)

In this passage, the word is “angel” but is better interpreted and read as “messenger”. This was a messenger of the Lord God. He said, “for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing you hast not witheld thy only son”. The God of the Old Testament stopped Abraham and played a drama out to Abraham of the coming Redeemer who would shed His blood for all mankind. The Messenger, was Jehovah, pre-incarnate Jesus Christ.

IN the New Testament Matthew replays this drama and Jesus lives what Isaac was spared. Matthew reports Jesus' words,
2  “Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.”(Matthew 26:2)

Just before He died, Jesus cried out:
45  “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
46  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
50  Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
51  And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
52  And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
53  And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”(Matthew 27:45-53)


It was the only time in the short life of our Lord and Savior, that Jesus experienced what He feared most...it was not the pain, the suffering, or even dying. It was the separation from the Father He had known for all eternity. He knew at the very moment, just before He gave up His Spirit, what we feel. Before this, He had not experienced it. But now, He knows what it felt like and He feared it more than anything else. The day became black as night. The clouds covered the face of the earth, and God turned His face away from His Son, because He could not bear to look upon what He had received, the sins of the whole world on His person. For that He died under it's burden. As He did, we should fear separation from God Almighty for all eternity, instead of just three days and three nights as He was.

JESUS IS THE ROCK!

God was with the Israelites in the wilderness and identified Himself as the Rock...

(Exodus 17:6) “Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

IN 1st Corinthians 10, Paul identifies who this Rock was,
10:4  “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.”

THE HIGH PRIEST TO GOD, KING OF SALEM, MELCHIZEDEK

It's one of the great mysteries of the Old Testament. Who was this priest, the King of Salem? You know the story. Abraham rescued his nephew Lot from being captured in a war between Canaanite cities. On his way back from taking spoils from routing these captors who had taken his nephew as prisoner, Abraham was visited by the King of Salem. Genesis chapter 14,
18  “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
19  And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
20  And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.”(Genesis 14:18-20)

You give tithes to God, as Abraham did. Abraham realized he was being paid a visit by God Himself. Abraham had many meetings with God, and was called a friend of God.


Notice that Melchizedek was king of Salem. That is the city of Jerusalem. "Salem" comes from the Hebrew word meaning "peace" That would make Melchizedek the "King of Peace". The Hebrew name Melchizedek itself means "King of Righteousness"

Paul emphasizes this in Hebrews,

1  “For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
2  To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;
3  Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.”(Hebrews 7:1-3)

Paul clears this up for us. Melchizedek was the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

The same individual is mentioned in Psalm 110, Speaking prophetically of Christ, David stated: "The Eternal hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."




Notice again: Melchizedek, this scripture reveals, abides that is, remains permanently, continually, a priest. God the Father is not the Priest of God, but Christ the Son of God is. Yet, in the days when the Apostle Paul lived and wrote, shortly after Jesus ascended to heaven as High Priest, the scripture states that even then Melchizedek "abideth "—which means does now abide—"a priest continually." The Moffatt translation states it: "continues to be priest permanently" even while Jesus Christ is High Priest!


Also, note that if Melchizedek is a high priest forever, but Jesus Christ is also called our High Priest before God the Father, can there be two high priest before God? No, because Melchizedek and Jesus Christ are one and the same.

THE FATHER AND JESUS ARE ONE!!

Scripture professes that Jesus is indeed, GOD in the flesh. Jesus is a direct manifestation of the Creator in human form. Jesus said in John 10:30 “I and my Father are one.” And again when asked by Phillip to show them the Father, Jesus cleared it up for all of us, in John

9 “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”(John 14:9-10)

How much clearer can our Lord and Savior be??
To deny that Jesus is God come in the flesh is the spirit of anti-Christ. We are to test the spirits and all who deny this one thing are of the devil, 

1 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”(1^st John 4:1-3)


THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST.
Jesus revealed Himself to the apostle John while he was on the isle of Patmos. Revelation, starting verse 1:
1  “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
2  Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw”......dropping down,
1:5  And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
6  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
7  Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
8  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”(Revelation 1:1-2.5-8)


John was in the spirit on that day and seeing a vision that God was providing him as a witness of things to come and that witness was delivered by none other, than the Creator God, the Son of God in all His glory:
1:12 “ And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
13  And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
14  His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
15  And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
16  And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
17  And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:”(Revelation 1:12-17)



From the beginning of Genesis v. 1, to the ending chapter in Revelation, the bible has only one focus, Jesus Christ and His coming into the world. God in His wisdom knew that men could not save themselves, and He would redeem His creation from Satan the devil. To do so required that He come Himself, as a man clothed in mortal flesh to be made like His brethren, to share in their mortality and to feel their need for a Savior, up close and personal. He was tempted in all things like we are, but without sin.


Jesus was the sinless substitution to satisfy payment for the remission of sins. 1st John,
2 “ And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
3  And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.”(1^st John 2:2-3)

I could go on and on, but the evidence found in your bible, plus the eye witness accounts, and historical evidence proves that Jesus was a real being, with real feelings, and was God in the flesh. To say otherwise, is to be deceived, or possess the spirit of anti-christ. So yes, my friend, Jesus is really God. Do you know my Jesus personally? Each of us were born with one purpose and that was what will each of us do with the God/man, Christ Jesus?...will you believe who He said He was, or reject Him and believe the lies of the adversary, Satan, the Devil?

How do you come to know Him, as He really is? He came to save lost souls which we all are. He shed His own blood, as the substitute payment for the salvation and cleansing us of those sins. He did what God the Father required to allow mortal man into His presence. How do you and I approach God the Father? By confessing our sins, repenting of the way we have lived up this point, realizing that Jesus is God and that He died on a cross and by shedding His blood, made a way to be forgiven of those sins. Then accept by faith the blood sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and realize and confess with your  mouth, that Jesus died, but more importantly rose to life three days later and lives eternally, as God Almighty (and sits at the right hand of God our Father on high, waiting to return to reclaim His creation, meaning the earth, and you, and me) then and only then can we know Him and claim His salvation by faith, given in mercy and grace as a free gift by God the Father to the world. Call upon my Jesus, your Jesus. If you cry in true repentance and ask Him to come into your heart and life, as Lord and Savior, He will do as you ask…He is only a prayer away for the truly repentant sinner. Look in the mirror, you’ll see who I’m talking about. This life is all about what we will do with Jesus, and the Bible was written as a love letter to the world, to you, to me and all who believe. Jesus paid it all, became like us, to redeem what was lost in the Garden of Eden. There is nothing we can do, but accept the free gift of salvation by faith...reach out today and take the gift that God is offering each of us....

16” For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:16-19)

Brethren, and all who read this, walk toward the Light, which is Jesus Christ and accept what has already been paid for in His own blood for the salvation of the world...know this also....

8 “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:8-13)

This is pastor Mike Taylor praying God's salvation comes into your life throught His Son, Jesus Christ. If you need any help, counseling, or just a friendly ear to listen to you, drop me a line via email to realteam1999@sbcglobal.net, or visit me online for more biblical lessons found in the Word of God at www.pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com,  God bless you all,

till we meet at Jesus feet.