Aretherra || Loudboy || ELGardner 2022
And God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.
Genesis 1:11-13
Beginning in John chapter 2, and continuing through chapter 12 (John 2-12) is the first main section of this Gospel, in which seven great signs pointing to the deity of Christ are recounted.
Throughout this marvelous narrative of the plagues, the thing that stands out is the destruction of Egypt’s paganism. Its gods were dead!
Throughout the Bible, creation is declared to be an act of God and Christ, or God through Christ; and this Biblical explanation of how the universe came into existence is the only reasonable and intelligent explanation ever given.
This psalm is both historical and prophetic. It refers to things that happened in Israel; and it is a prophecy concerning the New Testament Church.
This habit of praying toward a particular point has been maintained till this day by the Muslims who pray in the direction of Mecca.
There are actually seven Calvary miracles, the greatest and most wonderful, of course, being the resurrection of Christ. The rending of the veil, occurring simultaneously with the death of Christ, must be associated with that death; and, looking more closely, it is plain that the veil, in practically all of its functions and even in its colors, was a most instructive type of Christ.
The ladder is also a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. The ladder was “the way” between earth and heaven; and Christ affirmed that he is indeed “The Way” (John 14:6); and, as Jacob saw the angels of God ascending and descending upon that ladder, Jesus affirmed to Nathaniel that he would “see angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man” (John 1:51).
In the earthly life of our Lord, the wonder of Bethlehem and the angelic announcement of a Saviour born culminated in the far more wonderful event of Jesus’ death and resurrection for the salvation of mankind. The best wine came last.
When man rejects miracles, he rejects God. The real essence of miracle, then, is the acknowledgment that God is at work.
Seven is a perfect number because it is divisible only by itself and by unity; moreover the derivative, as in the accompanying diagram, reveals the most common pattern in nature.
God rested on Day Seven.
Thus Jesus rose “through his clothes” just as he rose through the tomb. The angel did not roll away the stone to let the Lord out but to let the witnesses in!
At first it seems those two events occurred simultaneously; but the next verse notes that it was “after his resurrection” that they actually came out of their graves and appeared in the city, thus the mention of the saints in Matthew 27:52 is for the purpose of revealing which graves were opened.
First, even the most ordinary of earthquakes would in this case, due to its timing, have been strongly suggestive of the supernatural; but this was far more and utterly different from any ordinary earthquake.
The angels have the nature of servants, or “ministers,” as stated here, and thus must ever be accounted inferior to Jesus our Lord; despite this, however, those shining creatures of the unseen world possess a magnificence beyond our imagination; and the service they give to God and their activities on behalf of the saints, so mysteriously mentioned here, are matters of surpassing interest and curiosity.
The veil has been torn in two. Do not let it come back. Take it away forever. Let it come no more between the face of the redeemed and that of the Redeemer!
God allowed no such apology for an idol, and men should not allow it today.
This manifestation of God’s power should cause the soul to tremble! Only the ONE TRUE GOD AND CREATOR of the universe could step forth and lay his hand upon the established routine of the natural creation and bring to pass such a darkness as that which enveloped the world during three full hours of the crucifixion.
For in him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and unto him; and he is before all things, and in him all things consist (Colossians 1:16-17).
By such a choice of platform, performing the miracle at a wedding, from which to launch his world-saving ministry, Christ conferred upon marriage his approval, encouragement, and blessing. The literal enrichment of that bride and groom symbolizes the enrichment that always follows the welcoming of Christ into the homes and hearts of people.
We are “in Christ,” having believed in him and having been baptized into the “one body,” Christ’s spiritual body. As a result of Christ’s redemptive work, we enjoy eternal life (presently, in the joys of Christian service, and ultimately, throughout all eternity).