Dear Friends,
Greetings in Christ! In John 11, Jesus will raise Lazarus from the dead. The implications of this event are truly earth-shattering. Jesus [is] the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in [Him], though he were dead, yet shall he live: (v 25). This last miracle recorded by John prepares the reader for the death and resurrection of Jesus and underscores how Jesus has conquered the grave.
Give us understanding, Father, as we read your precious word, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
John 11:1-7
1 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)
3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
4 When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.
6 When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.
7 Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again.
John 11:1-7
Before we get too far into this chapter, let us consider how John points out that Jesus abode two days in the same place before going to see Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. From the beginning, John has meticulously recorded the days on which events took place. We have seen that these observations were made for very good reasons, here, here, and here. I believe that the two days Jesus waited to resurrect Lazarus likewise have a hidden meaning embedded into them.
The Bible says a thousand years are as a day to God (2 Pet 3:8; cf Ps 90:4). The resurrection of Lazarus is a picture of the first resurrection that accompanies the rapture of the church, two millennia after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, or after the two-thousand-year church age.
John is not the only biblical author who does this. We see similar allusions in other places. For example, When Moses received the law on Mt Sinai, God told him And 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. (Ex 19:11) Therefore, for God to say that on the third day He would come down in the sight of all the people, one could infer an allusion to Jesus ‘coming down in the sight of all the people’ to rule from Jerusalem in the third millennium after He left (ie after two millennia, or two days). In Matthew 17, the transfiguration takes place on the seventh day, or after six days (Matt 17:1). At the beginning of the seventh millennium from creation, we (the church) will all get glorified bodies like the one Jesus received on the Mount of Transfiguration. (See also Hos 6:2.)
…..It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.
Proverbs 25:2
Father, the death of Lazarus seemed like a horrible tragedy to his friends and family, but You used it to glorify your Son. I pray You will use Romans 8:28 to transform the tragedies taking place in the world today into miracles that glorify your Son. You promise to give beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. You turn curses into blessings, Father. Should you choose to send your Son back this year, please account us worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass and to stand before Him. I ask all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Prophecy Update: Last week, I posted a story about how brave private citizens (ex-military) are doing the job the Biden Administration should be doing in getting Americans and American allies out of Afghanistan. It is now being reported that their efforts are being blocked by the State Department. This sort of behavior is exactly what one would expect to see from a corrupt regime that is working toward a new world order.
Our current location on the calendar places us on the cusp of the new millennium to follow the church age (Rev 20). No man knows the day or the hour, but then again, Jesus said And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. Rosh Hashanah began today, September 6, at sundown. It will end on Wednesday at sundown. Rosh Hashanah is also known as the Feast of Trumpets, which many believe is connected to the rapture of the church and the last trump (1 Cor 15:52; cf 1 Thess 4:16-18). Don’t be suprised if we get caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air soon, but if not, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
