Category: resurrection

Posted in easter, king, resurrection, triumph, truth

Resurrection Sunday

Posted on by elizabethprata

The Resurrection

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

~Matthew 28:1-10

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 
John 11:25
Posted in easter, encouragement, good friday, resurrection

Good Friday to Resurrection Sunday, the world’s most important days

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Can you imagine the pit of despair the Disciples felt on Good Friday? To them it was a hellish and confusing Friday. Jesus’ separation from the Father while on the cross (Matthew 27:46) is the loneliest and most poignant moment any person ever felt in the history of the universe, bar none.

But the disciples’ sudden and unexpected separation on Friday from their spiritual Father they’d been following so hopefully for three years came upon them cruelly and brutally, throwing them all into states of panic, despair, and spiritual depression. Even though Jesus had told them ahead of time, and even though they had studied the scriptures, they didn’t understand. To them, it wasn’t Good Friday. It was just bad Friday and the seeming end of the long trail of hopes and highs they’d been experiencing for three years with Jesus in discipleship to Him. They did not know as we do, Friday’s here, but Sunday’s coming!

old rugged cross

We worship Jesus every day. We worship and praise Jesus collectively in services on Sunday. We exalt Him once a year on Resurrection Sunday. We know Him as Resurrected King triumphant over sin and death!

His ultimate moment will be His return, when every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess (Romans 14:11, Philippians 2:10, Isaiah 45:23).

“The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.” (Zechariah 14:9)

Everyone will know that Jesus is MESSIAH! Not their spouse, not their work, not their own self. They will finally know the Resurrected Jesus is the only name. He is all names. He is the beginning and the end!

And it started with the cross on Friday.

Posted in alive, easter, resurrection, tomb

He is risen!

Posted on by elizabethprata

Our precious Lord, powerful and omniscient, the Alpha and the Omega, is alive! He is not in the tomb, but continuing His incarnation, but at this time, as glorified and eternal Prophet, Priest and King!!

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, and despised the shame, and is set at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)

“John to the seven Churches which are in Asia, Grace be with you, and peace from him, Which is, and Which was, and Which is to come, and from the seven Spirits which are before his Throne,” (Revelation 1:4).

I can’t say enough about our Jesus, who conquered death and sin and hell, so I will let the bible tell us about Him. Here are just a few of the titles and honors bestowed upon Him! The Blue Letter Study Bible lists the Names, Titles, and Characters of Jesus Christ. There are over 200! They list the scriptures with them so you can see, and also click to read in context.

Here are just a very few of my favorites. Who ever gets tired of the name of Jesus? No Christian! We boast in HIM! We glory in HIM! His deeds! His works! His name!

The Son of the Highest – Luke 1:32
Our God and Savior – 2 Peter 1:1
Emanuel, God with us – Matthew 1:23
I am (before Abraham was) John 8:58
The Almighty, which is, and which was, and which is to come – Revelation 1:8
The Creator of all things – Colossians 1:16
The Upholder of all things – Hebrews 1:3
The Beginning – Colossians 1:18
The Beginning and the Ending – Revelation 1:8
The Alpha and the Omega – Revelation 1:8
The First and the Last – Revelation 1:17
The Life – 1 John 1:2
Eternal Life – 1 John 5:20
He that liveth – Revelation 1:18

All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name!

Posted in body, glory, God, holy, resurrection

Jesus: The permanent God-man

Posted on by elizabethprata

I am going to speak plainly, not theologically.

I was not saved by the Lord’s grace until I was 43 years old. Before that, I lived in New England and lived a very liberal life. I’m grateful to my patient and loving Savior who elected me, drew me, and lifted me from the pit of sin in which I was living.

Until that time, during my adult life, I could not understand the phenomenon of Jesus. Oh, I understood it to be a phenomenon, all right. No one can dismiss Him, least of all the unsaved. He is a pervasive presence that simply does not go away. I used to actively wonder about His staying power. Buddha comes and goes as a fad, Allah wasn’t even around until 600 AD and wasn’t popular for a long time after that. Pele the volcano goddess waned and Ra the sun god is passe. And whatever happened to Aphrodite and Mars? But Jesus never waned and He is worshiped in every culture throughout every era.

So anyone with a brain would wonder, why Jesus?

When I thought more deeply about it, which was rare, I’d think that God wasn’t all that much to talk about, either. I mean, He sent the two humans to the Garden, supposedly, and then kicked them out of the garden

for one little mistake. He messed up again by allowing things to get out of hand and had to do an etch-a-sketch erase by sending the Flood. And He messed up again by picking the Jews, who continually messed things up throughout the Old Testament, and God had to send Jesus to do a do-over. And if the Christians were to be believed (not that I actually knew any), things would deteriorate once again and God would have to wipe out the earth and start again. I thought God was an ineffective bumbler, didn’t know what He was doing, and Jesus was just some spaghetti thrown on the wall to see if God’s latest band-aid approach would work.

Of course I was completely wrong. The depraved mind cannot even think straight. The unsanctified mind cannot know the things of God. I was a classic example of 1 Corinthians 2:14-

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

And of Ephesians 4:18-

They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.

One of the things I glory in knowing now, on the other side of the veil, is that Jesus wasn’t a piece of spaghetti God threw against the wall to see if it would stick. It is of enormous comfort to know that God ordained His plan since the foundation of the world. (Rev 13:8). That Jesus was with God since the beginning, and that Jesus IS God (John 1:1-5).

Jesus willingly gave up His life. Let that sink in. He did it out of love, and volunteered for the cross.

It is written, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” (John 10:18)

As John 10:15 says, “he lays down His life for the sheep. Luke 23:46 says in the KJV, where the Holy Spirit used to be called the Holy Ghost,

And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

It doesn’t say “the Ghost departed from Him.” It doesn’t say “He died and the Ghost left Him”. HE GAVE IT UP. He was in total control of His life until the moment of His death and beyond.

What a beautiful moment. He knew when scripture was fulfilled and when the moment came, He gave up His life for us, in obedience to the Father.

Now next, if that wasn’t enough, think of His sacrificial death. It was monumental, even as the God-man.

The Incredulity of Thomas, by Caravaggio, 1602

But wait, there’s more. After He was resurrected, He remained in His body He had taken on as a flesh-born babe. He showed Thomas the nail holes in His hand and His pierced side. (John 20:27). He ate with the disciples on the beach. (John 21:13). He walked and was visible to people. There is no reason to think He is not in His glorified body.

Philippians 3:20-21 says,

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

It staggers the mind tho think He descended from pure, holy glory to live in the pigpen that is earth, just because He loves us. It is stupefying to know He dwelled in human form and in obedience to the Father for 33 years. Think on this: He poured Himself into the form of a man, lived and died. Wow. He is still in that form and will be forever!!

When He was resurrected, He remained in the form of a man, in flesh. Glorified flesh, but flesh! THAT is a sacrifice. To dwell for all eternity in the likeness of the Last Adam, as a permanent reminder to the Father of His obedience and bringing many sons to His glory. He is glorious not just in taking on our human nature but in remaining our brother (Hebrews 2:10-11, 17) and continuing as the visible “image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15).

Jesus was resurrected bodily and He is still in that body

He voluntarily poured Himself into flesh, lived a sinless life to fulfill the scriptures, died an agonizing death – in our place – so as to exhaust God’s wrath, and was resurrected bodily forever to be in body as our brother, friend, and Lord.

My heart melts within me at this love! I faint from its strength! I bend my knee to its holiness! Praise our precious, loving Lord! Worship Him as He richly deserves!

Posted in easter, gethsemane, resurrection

Sacrifice, agony, ultimate love: Good Friday

Posted on by elizabethprata

Sunday’s a-coming!

I can’t imagine how it felt for our precious Savior or for our Loving God, after eons of intra-Trinitarian delight, of giving and submitting, loving, planning, and creating, sweetly delighting in each other’s presence, then for Jesus to be apart from God or for how it felt for God to be separated from His Son. It is painful to even think about…that moment in the Garden when Jesus was praying to be released from the agony of the cup, or the moment on the cross when He felt God’s presence depart from Him (Luke 22:42) … Oh! Oh! Oh!

But Sunday’s comin’!!

S.M. Lockridge’s sermon combines with footage from The Passion Of The Christ for this powerful video.

Posted in end time, paradise, resurrection, tartarus

Jesus- where was He after death but before resurrection?

Posted on by elizabethprata

Christ was crucified, was taken off the awful cross and laid lovingly to rest in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb. He was cleaned, wrapped, inspected, and the tomb was closed with a large rock. (Mt 27:57-61; Mark 15:47; Luke 23:55)

What happened then? The bible is clear on what the people above the earth did. Mary and the women “rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment” after preparing spices and perfumes to later anoint the body. (Luke 23:56) Then they grieved.

What was Jesus doing? He wasn’t in heaven (John 20:17), He didn’t ascend until after He had shown Himself to the Ten, then later to all Eleven, to Mary, to Peter, and to the two going to Emmaus. (Luke 24:13-32; John 19:20-25; Luke 24:33-35). He told the thief on the cross that the thief would be in Paradise with Him later. (John 23:43). So Jesus was in Paradise. Where is Paradise?

Before Jesus’ resurrection, all the saved dead went to Paradise, also known as Abrahams’ Bosom, a place in the earth. Jesus Himself said He was going to be there three days as a sign. (Matthew 12:40). The story of Lazarus and the rich man also gives a glimpse. Lazarus the beggar died and was carried by angels to Abraham’s side in Paradise. (Luke 16:22). The rich man who had ignored Lazarus all his life also died but he was “In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.” (Luke 16:23). The rich man begged to have a drop of water, or to send someone to his brothers to tell them to avoid this place, but Abraham said “And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'”

So we get a clearer picture of the belly of the earth, where there exists Paradise for the saved redeemed, hell for the unsaved lost, and between them, a chasm or a great gulf fixed. Below that there is Tartarus and then the abyss.

2 Peter offers a tantalizing clue of Tartarus, noting that after Jesus died:

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God being put to death in the flesh but quickened by the Spirit, By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison.” (1 Peter 3:18-19)

What spirits in prison? 2 Peter answers that question:

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;” (2 Peter 2:4).

What sin did angels commit to be kept all this time in the lowest dungeon of hell?

“That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair and they took them wives of all which they chose…here were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” (Genesis 6:2, 4). The Hebrew translation for ‘sons of God’ is divine being, angel.

The gloomy dungeons Peter refers to is Tartarus. The word Tartarus is actually used in several translations. You might remember Tartarus in Greek mythology. Tartarus was a place of punishment under the earth, to which, for example, the Titans were sent. In Greek mythology, the Titans were the elder gods, the first gods, who ruled until their children the Olympians led by Zeus overthrew them. When the overthrow was complete, the Titans were sent to Tartarus, the lowest underworld. Do you see the similarities in the ‘mighty men of renown’ noted in Genesis and how these first angels who sinned could be seen by the populace as giants to be worshiped and feared? The cultural memory of those giants spawned the entire Greek mythologies, and later the Roman gods. Far from Tartarus being a mythological place written about by Greek god worshipers, it is a real place that satan later mythologized when he co-opted the cultural memory of the sinning angels and perverted it to false god worship.

Anyway, Tartarus is the lowest, deepest dungeon and the angels who had sinned are chained there. In other translations, the word Tartarus is “abyss” the Greek being abusso. Tartarus is a deep section of hell, reserved for these demons.

Graphic from “Revelation” by Frank Overton, Jr.

Jude also refers to this place, calling it darkness- “And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day” but the word darkness in Greek is zophos, meaning “murky, appalling gloom, referring to darkness so dense and foreboding it is “felt”; (figuratively) apocalyptic, gloomy darkness associated with the nether world bringing its indescribable despair (incredible gloom).”

DEMON GRAPEVINE

Mt 8:29 and Luke 8:28 shows us that the demons know Jesus, and they know the appointed time of their doom. That is shown in the behavior of the Gadarene demoniac, who was host to a thousand demons. They talk amongst each other and news travels pretty quickly. They also know that Jesus is God and they fear Him. John MacArthur says that the demons have the most orthodox and conservative theology of us all. When Jesus got off the boat and walked to Gadara, the demoniac threw himself down in front of Jesus, saying, “When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me’”

Jesus asks their name, and they answer truthfully, and then “They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss.” (Luke 8:31)

It is not likely that the sinning demons chained in prison would have been able to tap into the demon grapevine, being kept for judgment in the lowest pit, the abyss, in apocalyptic darkness. So we remember Peter’s verse where it is written that Jesus preached to the demons in the lowest abyss.

Now, just imagine how it might have been topside at the moment Jesus died on the cross. Satan thinks he has succeeded in having Jesus killed and thinks he has foiled God’s entire promise to redeem humanity through the Messiah. He and his minions must have been partying like there was no tomorrow. They must have been demonically gleeful, cackling, and swooping in hateful hilarity. It was a party.

Then Jesus shows up!

Jesus preaches to them!

Jesus heralds His victory!!!!!

Look at the word preached in Greek. It was not preaching unto salvation, that word is euaggelízō. It was not preaching the Good News. It means PROCLAIM! Strong’s 2784 kērýssō – properly, to herald; to announce a message publicly and with conviction. Jesus, showing up in the middle of the demon-party, to say “YOU LOSE”. His eye is on the sparrow, and though these demons are in the lowest dungeons, He has not forgotten them. Every creature under His sovereign eye is accountable whether they are before Him at His throne or far below Him in gloomy dungeons. When Jesus died, I believe this is the time Peter meant when he wrote that Jesus went to the spirits in prison and proclaimed. I am of the opinion that it was His victory He was heralding. Praise HIM!!

Jesus died, went to Paradise to give comfort to the patiently waiting redeemed, and to preach to the angels in the lowest dungeon. It’s thought that when Jesus ascended to heaven, He gathered the waiting redeemed from Paradise, emptying it, and brought them to to heaven, where saved people who die now enter directly. Hell is still full of the unsaved dead, awaiting judgment, as well as Tartarus below that, with the sinning angels still waiting their day of judgment as well. But at least now they all know, they LOST. Jesus saves. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and His victory is complete. Because of this, ours is complete as well, if we believe.

Sinning Demon, YOU LOSE!

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Posted in good friday, it's friday but sunday's coming, resurrection

Good Friday

Posted on by elizabethprata

How can I write a Good Friday message? The enormity of what Jesus did on that Friday long ago is too huge, the depth of my gratitude too great. How great the Father’s love for us! I can’t express it. I can only shake, and quake, and hang my head in shame at the part my sin played in that awful day, and then raise my head again and look toward Him in heaven rejoicing that HE LIVES!

He could have spoken us out of existence, and yet, He did not. He came down from lofty heights, “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.” (Mt 8:17). He taught, healed, ministered, rebuked, and drew men unto His very breast, with open arms and joy.

“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,” (Revelation 1:5)

For a long time I didn’t understand His love, that He knew me even when I didn’t know Him. That He sought me personally, knowing my name and having formed a plan for my life. I certainly didn’t understand the blood and His death on the cross. I refused to understand about sin.

But once I did, the floodgates opened. As each day goes by the power of our God’s sacrifice of Himself on the cross amazes me more. And the resurrection, victory over sin, death, and life is the final ending to an age-long battle. What peace there is in Jesus. What unfolding love and eternal joy. It is indescribable. And all because of Good Friday, and its finishing event, Resurrection Sunday.

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.”  (Ephesians 1:18-19)

You can lay down your weary arms and conclude your battle with sin. It’s what is making you so tired, you know. The struggle against that hole in your heart where Jesus should be, to fill it with something, anything, is tiring. We fill it with sin, but that hole should be filled with His love and His purpose for you. But first comes recognition of your sins, that you think, say, and do things that displease God. Ask Him to forgive those. Confess them. And submit to Him knowing His plan for your life is wonderful and beyond anything we could ever dream up. Today He died for you, for us. He hung there in agonizing pain, to pay the penalty for sin according to God’s justice. The spotless lamb was chosen and sacrificed. Now all you need to do is join Him in His kingdom by confessing and repenting! Wouldn’t you like to experience the real meaning of Easter with the Holy Spirit dwelling inside you, prompting you to new understandings and greater wonder of our precious Jesus? Hurry! Friday’s here, but Sunday’s coming!
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