David B. Curtis
David B. Curtis
| Media #1,271 |  |
 |
Good morning, Bereans. We are continuing our study of 1 Peter this morning, focusing on verse 22 of chapter 3. As we go through this letter, please keep in mind that Peter is writing to believers who are suffering for their faith. They were enduring some very hostile persecution. In chapter 1 and verse 6, he writes: "You have been grieved by various trials." In verse 7 he says: "You are being tested by fire." In chapter 2 and verse 12, he states: "You are being slandered by the evil doers in the society in which you live."
We have been looking at this final section of chapter three, verse 18-22. It is a major thought unit that provides that key point that the Christ who suffered won the ultimate victory.
If consider 3:18 and 22 together, you can see that they form the complete thought of the victory of Christ. This is a reminder to Christians that their suffering results in triumph.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 1 Peter 3:18 ESV
who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. 1 Peter 3:22 ESV
What we see here is that "Christ suffered" and "is at the right hand of God." Peter is using Christ as our example of undeserved suffering that ultimately ends us in triumph. I see in 1 Peter 3:18-22 a text very similar to what we see in Philippians 2:5-11. In both texts we see the humiliation and exaltation of Christ. It takes humility to endure unjust suffering. Do you see that?
in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 1 Peter 3:19 ESV
This tells us that Christ proclaimed victory to the Watchers who sinned in Genesis 6 and where thus imprisoned.
because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Yeshua the Christ, 1 Peter 3:20-21 ESV
"Corresponds" is antitupon. In theological and biblical contexts, "antitupon" means "counterpart," "corresponding figure," or "type." It refers to something that corresponds to or resembles another thing, often in a spiritual or symbolic way. The type is the symbol, illustration, or shadow that is used to represent or illustrate something else. The thing being illustrated is the antitype. So, 1 Peter 3:21 teaches that baptism is not the figure or type but, rather, is the thing being illustrated (i.e., the antitype).
The baptism that saves is Spirit baptism, that is, it is being placed in Christ at the moment of conversion. Therefore, the parallelism between the type and antitype of Noah's salvation and our salvation is clearly visible in this light. Noah was saved from the wrath and judgment of God by being in the ark. The New Testament believer is now saved from the judgment of God by being in Christ.
For our time this morning we want to focus our attention on verse 22. In verse 18 we see that Christ suffered and in verse 22 we see that he reigns.
who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. 1 Peter 3:22 ESV
So, though Yeshua suffered for doing good, He had the ultimate triumph. The example of Yeshua proves Peter's point in 1 Peter 3:9—when we suffer for doing good, we will inherit a blessing.
"Who has gone into heaven"—this is speaking about His ascension. "Gone into heaven" is from the Greek poreuomai which means "to traverse, that is, travel (literally or figuratively; especially to remove [figuratively die], live, etc.): - depart, go (away, forth, one's way, up), (make a, take a) journey, walk." Strong's.
Christ was on earth and he went into heaven. What is heaven? Could you give someone a definition of heaven if you were asked?
We see throughout Scripture that heaven is the abode, the dwelling place of God. Heaven is not a place in this physical realm. Heaven is a literal place in the heavenly realm or dimension. As Christians, our citizenship is in heaven. We are in heaven in a positional sense now, and when our spirit leaves this realm at physical death, it will go to that realm in a locational sense. When we die physically, we will dwell in heaven—the spiritual realm where God dwells.
"And is at the right hand of God"—this is an anthropomorphic metaphor of authority, power, and prestige. This is triumphant supremacy. Every knee bows to Him. This imagery is drawn from Psalm 110:1.
The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool." Psalms 110:1 ESV
Psalm 110 is the most quoted psalm in the New Testament. The psalm begins by declaring that this future king will be given greater honor, power, and authority than any human king before him: he sits at Yahweh's right hand, the place of highest honor as Yahweh's vice-regent and representative (110:1). As such, he derives his authority from Yahweh and exercises Yahweh's own royal rule, resulting in the subjection of the king's enemies (110:2).
The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! Psalms 110:2 ESV
This ruling over his enemies is exactly what Peter is talking about at the end of verse 22: "With angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him."
This seems to refer to angelic ranks. It shows Christ's complete authority and power over the spiritual realm.
God has "subjected" all things, even the "authorities and powers" behind their persecutors, to Yeshua the Christ because of His death and resurrection (cf. v. 18).
Yeshua's ultimate victory, in spite of temporary persecution, should be an encouragement to any suffering disciple of the Savior.
The word "subjected" here is hupotassō. This should be a familiar Greek word because we've seen it used four times in 1 Peter so far. Hupotassō is a military term. It means to line up under authority, to obey.
Who exactly are these angels, authorities, and powers that are subject to Christ? We've talked about the gods in our last two messages, but I think it might be helpful to back up and get the full picture on who these angels, watchers, or gods are.
Let's start at the beginning. In the far reaches of eternity past, Yahweh always existed. The Eternal God of the Bible has always existed and always will.
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Psalm 90:2 ESV
As El Olam, Yahweh is known as the Everlasting God. The Hebrew name Olam means "forever, perpetual, old, ancient." It signifies that there is an infinite future and past. The principles of the laws of nature, the beginning of time, and the first existence of this world are all the result of Yahweh the Creator who possesses never-ending wisdom and power. He was before all time and all worlds.
So, Yahweh existed from all eternity in the three persons of the divine Trinity: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Then at a point in time, Yahweh created other gods (lesser gods) and angels to be part of His family, His divine council. Christ, who is Yahweh incarnate, is said to have created everything including other gods.
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through him and for him. Colossians 1:16 ESV
The phrase "all things" occurs six times in Colossians 1:15-20. In reference to The Creation, it means "the all" or "the totality." Yeshua designed all creation "visible" (earthly kingdoms and empires) and "invisible" (the divine principalities and powers). The words "thrones," "powers," "rulers," and "authorities" probably refer to spirit beings and not to human government. In part, this refers to the hierarchy of spiritual beings.
But who are these rulers and powers in the heavens? I believe these are divine beings who were once part of Yahweh's divine council. The idea of a divine council may sound strange to you because most Christians today simply view God as ruling and Satan as opposing Him. Yahweh is seen as the only good deity, and Satan is seen as the only bad deity. But in the Hebrew Bible, we see a divine council, a ruling body consisting of Yahweh as the supreme monarch and various supernatural attendants.
All ancient Mediterranean cultures had some conception of a divine council. But the Hebrew Bible describes a divine council under the authority of Yahweh, the God of Israel. While the divine council of Israel and its neighbors share significant features, the divine council of Israelite religion was distinct in many important ways. Yahweh is a unique God, but He is not alone.
The idea of a pantheon of gods in a heavenly council is witnessed to by various literary genres of the Hebrew Bible. It is mentioned in historical, narrative, and poetic passages, prophetic visions, Temple liturgy, and apocalyptic visions. It also transcends the historical time-line from the earliest primeval history to the final eschatological frontier. The concept and imagery of the divine council is woven throughout the pages of the Hebrew Bible. An example can be found in Psalm 82.
God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: Psalm 82:1 ESV
"Council" is from the Hebrew edah and means "a stated assemblage (specifically a concourse, or generally a family." The term "divine council" is used by Hebrew Bible scholars to refer to the "heavenly host" (the pantheon of divine beings who administer the affairs of the cosmos). It is the consensus among ANE scholars that every society from the time of the ancient Sumerians to the time of the Babylonians and the Greeks believed in a pantheon of gods.
Here "God" and "gods/rulers" are both the Hebrew word elohim. This is speaking of the divine council, or the "watchers," as Daniel calls them. We don't know at what point in time Yahweh created these other gods, but we see that these gods were there when Yahweh created the world.
"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. [5] Who determined its measurements-surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? [6] On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, [7] when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Job 38:4-7 ESV
Here "morning stars" and "sons of God" are names of divine beings who are members of the divine council. Some folks see "sons of God" as humans, but how were humans already in existence at creation? Before the creation of the earth and man, Yahweh and other (lesser created) divine beings made up the divine council.
Yahweh is the supreme ruler over all Elohim. We see this demonstrated in Exodus 12.
For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. Exodus 12:12 ESV
In recounting the Exodus, Numbers 33 says
"while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had struck down among them. On their gods also the LORD executed judgments." Numbers 33:4 ESV
Here we see it wasn't just against the Egyptians that Yahweh brought judgment; he was also judging their gods.
Yahweh existed from all eternity and at a point in time he created other gods, a supernatural family. Then he created the world and man. Notice what the Scripture says about the creation of man.
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Genesis 1:26 ESV
Many take the plurality language here to refer to the Trinity. But who is the "us" and "our" here? Whom is God talking to? This is a reference to God's heavenly supernatural family, His divine council. From Philo onward, Jewish commentators generally held that these plurals were used because Yahweh was addressing His divine council. The early post- Apostolic Fathers such as Barnabas and Justin Martyr saw the plurals as a reference to the Trinity. I think that is how most Christians see them. But recent scholars tend to agree with ancient Jewish opinion. F. M. Cross notes:
In both Ugaritic and biblical literature, the use of the first-person plural is characteristic of address in the divine council. The familiar "we" … has long been recognized as the plural address used by Yahweh in His council (Cross, Canaanite Myth, 187).
The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary states the following:
The "us" in "Let us make man in our image" (Gen. 1:26; cf. 3:22; 11:6-7) refers to the "sons of God" or lesser "gods" mentioned elsewhere (6:1-4; Job 1:6; Ps. 29:1), here viewed as a heavenly council centered around the one God (cf. Ps. 82:1). In later usage these probably would be called "angels." (p. 1019, "Trinity")
After Adam was created, Yahweh brought him into Eden, the cosmic mountain, the dwelling place of Yahweh, the place where Yahweh holds council. Adam was brought into the garden and into an intimate relationship with Yahweh and the divine council. Adam and Eve walked in the garden with Yahweh. They dwelt in His presence.
You know what happened next. Man was tempted and he sinned. But what caused man to sin? The text says it was a serpent who tempted Eve, and Revelation 12:9 tells us that the serpent was Satan. They weren't tempted by a snake. I think in Genesis 3, we see one of the sons of God, a watcher, a council member, tempting man so that he could get rid of him. God had made man vice regent with Him, and some of the watchers may not have been too happy about this. Consider the following.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" Genesis 3:1 ESV
We see here that it was the "serpent" who tempted them. I believe that this "serpent" was a divine being, a member of the divine council, and not a member of the animal kingdom. This watcher chose to oppose Yahweh's plan for humanity by prompting humans to disobey Yahweh so that they would either be killed or removed from Eden and from Yahweh's council and family.
Let's look at the text in Genesis 3:1. "Serpent" here is from the Hebrew word nachash. According to Hebrew scholar Michael Heiser, it
is most likely a triple entendre, which is a word or phrase that has three different meanings at once. The root of nachash is (noon, het and sheen), which is the basis for a noun, a verb and an adjective in Hebrew. If you take nachash as pointing to the noun, the word here would mean: "serpent." This is a valid translation, but you must keep in mind that 'serpent' is not a member of the animal kingdom. If you were to take it as a verb, it would mean: "deceiver" or "diviner." So nachash could imply a "deceiver." This option also fits the story. As an adjective it would mean: "bronze," or "the shining one." In our text it is "ha nachash" (the Shining one). Luminosity is a characteristic of a divine being in the Hebrew Bible and in the ANE texts, luminosity is not the characteristic of an animal or a man. This is a divine being, not an animal or man. Would Eve carry on a conversation with a snake? I don't think so, but she would talk to a divine being. Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of God, they were very familiar with these divine beings.
What we have in Genesis 3, then, is a divine being and not an animal. It is a throne room guardian, a saraph, a serpentine being—one who was part of the divine council in Eden who decided to deceive humanity and get humans removed from Eden and from Yahweh's council and family. Why? Why does this divine being want man kicked out of Eden? Satan seems to have been jealous of man, and so he got him to sin so that Yahweh would kick him out of the cosmic mountain.
To most modern Christians, this event in Genesis 3 is the sole reason that mankind is as evil as they are. But to a Second Temple Hebrew, this was only one of three events that caused man to be so sinful, and the event in Genesis 3 was low on the list.
As we saw from Heiser's quote last week, "Ninety-nine percent of Second Temple Judaism believed that the reason wickedness so permeates the earth is because of what the Watchers did."
Before we look at the sin of the Watchers, notice Yahweh's promise after the fall of Adam and Eve.
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." Genesis 3:15 ESV
This verse is often called the protoevangelium (i.e., "first gospel") because it is the Bible's first prediction of a Savior. This is the "mother prophecy" of all of the prophecies in the Bible. This is a prophecy of Christ's overcoming Satan. Eve's seed, a human being, a Deliverer, would come and fix what Adam had done. It is my understanding that the gods understood this promise of a coming redeemer who would be human, so their next strategic move was an attempt to destroy the human race by genetically corrupting the human line so that it was no longer truly human. We see this in Genesis 6.
When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years." The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. Genesis 6:1-4 ESV
The "Sons of God" of verses 2 and 4 are rebellious divine beings (also called "Watchers") from God's heavenly who have taken the form of masculine human-like creatures. These gods married women of the human race (either Cainites or Sethites), thus violating the heavenly/earthly division that Yahweh established. The hybrid offspring of this abominable union were the giants called Nephilim, beings with physical superiority and military might who as such established themselves as men of renown. The meaning of the biblical word Nephilim has been a matter of unending controversy in Church history. That the word is still not translated into a defined English word but is transliterated in most Bible translations is evidence of the fact that no agreement can be made over its original meaning. While word studies have produced numerous suggestions for its meaning, the biblical definition comes from its only other instance in Scripture.
And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them." Numbers 13:33 ESV
"We seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them"—this gives me the impression that the Nephilim were a race of giant super-humans who are the product of this angelic invasion of the earth.
Enoch says the flood was sent because of the Watchers. The voluntarily sexual transgression of the women with the Watchers was a violation of heaven and earth and it caused the humans to share the blame. The wickedness of men was their sexual union with the Watchers.
The Nephilim (they are also called the Rephaim in the Tahakh) were already in the land when Abraham came to the promised land. They represent an attempt on the part of demonic powers to derail the divine program of bringing a Redeemer into the world through the human race.
If one of the main purposes of the flood was to wipe out the hybrid race, why do we see giants after the flood? Let's look at Genesis 6.
The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. Genesis 6:4 ESV
Please notice the words "and also afterward." Is this referring to after the flood? The Hebrew verb bo ("came in") is a euphemism for sexual relations. This verb is in the imperfect form, which denotes uncompleted ongoing action. The ensuing verb "bore children" is in a construction known as narrative sequence which means that "it carries the same action as the preceding verb." This answers the question of how there were giants after the flood?" The grammar indicates that the activity that created giants was ongoing. It happened before and after the flood. This is why Yahweh told Israel to totally wipe out different cultures. The purpose was to destroy these hybrids.
Enochian texts of the Intertestamental period and the New Testament tell us that these Watchers did two things to disrupt God's plan. First of all, they raised up a seed to corrupt and oppose God's people and second, they helped humanity destroy itself.
According to 1 Enoch 7:1-6, these watchers corrupted mankind and taught them all kinds of evil. They taught mankind to use certain technologies, and they seduced them with aberrant sexual relationships. They helped humanity in the path of self-destruction.
In summary, we have Satan corrupting man in the Garden, we have Watchers/Sons of God corrupting the gene pool with hybrid beings, and then we have the Nephilim corrupting and destroying humans in Genesis 6.
From the writings of the Second Temple Period, we find that they believed that the reason that wickedness so permeates the earth was a result of the following three incidents:
1) the fall of Adam and Eve
2) the sin of the Watchers in Genesis 6
3) The Tower of Babel in Genesis 11
Tower of Babel Because of Genesis 3, the Fall, and Genesis 6, men were evil and disobedient to Yahweh. In Genesis 11, the wickedness reached its summit in the Tower of Babel. In Genesis 10, the table of nations, Yahweh divided Noah's descendants into 70 different nations.
These are the clans of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, in their nations, and from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood. Genesis 10:32 ESV
It is important to note that Israel is not listed in the index of the 70 nations found in Genesis 10. The nation of Israel did not yet exist at that time. Because of man's disobedient act of building the tower of Babel, Yahweh divided the people and gave them to the lesser gods. They were to worship the lesser gods because Yahweh was done with them. Man continued to reject Yahweh and serve other gods so Yahweh gave them up. What happened in Genesis 10 and 11 is explained in Deuteronomy 32.
When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. Deuteronomy 32:8 ESV
Here we see that Yahweh is responsible for the creation and placement of the nations (Heb. goyim). In fact, variations of the same Hebrew root word parad ("divided") are used in both Genesis 10:32 and Deuteronomy 32:8.
Let me summarize. I think that the Watchers were jealous of Yahweh's bringing man into sacred space (the garden) so the serpent got them kicked out. Then Yahweh told of His plan to redeem man by the seed of the woman, so the Watchers sought to pollute the human race in order to stop the plan of redemption. The flood and the holy wars of Israel wiped out this hybrid race. And the God-man, Yeshua, came and provided redemption for His elect.
At the cross, these spiritual beings who opposed Yahweh were defeated, and at Pentecost, Yahweh began to reclaim all the nations for Himself. Yahweh, in other words, had not forever abandoned the nations to the watchers.
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. Luke 10:1 ESV
The NASB, KJV, and YLT have seventy, not seventy-two. There are several manuscripts and versions that have seventy-two. What is the significance of "seventy"? Remember, the number of nations listed in the Table of Nations in Genesis 10 that Yahweh disinherited was seventy. Since Luke viewed the Gospel as God's plan for reclaiming the nations that He disinherited at Babel, the number of disciples in Luke 10:1 was meant to match the number of nations in order to reinforce this symbolism.
Yeshua's inauguration of the Kingdom meant that these 70 disinherited nations were being reclaimed. Sending out 70 disciples expressed this theological message.
The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!" And he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Luke 10:17-19 ESV
In conjunction with the successful mission of the "seventy," Yeshua declares the expulsion of Satan from God's presence. Satan is being defeated, and the nations are being made part of the Kingdom of God.
I believe that since AD 70 and the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, Satan, watchers, and demons are all defeated foes. Their purpose was to stop the work of Christ in redeeming man, and that work was completed in AD 70 with the second coming, the resurrection, and the judgment.
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Matthew 24:29 ESV
Modern commentators generally understand this and what follows as the end of the world. However, the words "immediately after the tribulation of those days," clearly show that he is not speaking of any distant event, but, rather, something immediately following the tribulation just mentioned. The only fitting is the destruction of Jerusalem.
If you are not familiar with the apocalyptic language of the Tanakh, you will not understand what Christ is saying here. It sounds to the uninformed like the end of the world. But if we are familiar with the first three quarters of our Bible (aka the Tanakh or Old Testament), we can easily understand that this language is common among the prophets.
This idea is seen clearly as we look at passages like Isaiah 13, where mention is made of the destruction of Babylon using language which seems to set forth the end of the world. In Isaiah 34, the fall of Edom is described using the same language. Nahum 1 uses this apocalyptic language of the destruction of Nineveh. And Ezekiel 32 uses it to speak of Egypt's destruction.
Is this to be taken literally? Are the literal stars going to fall out of heaven? Many think so and see this as the end of the world—a cosmic collapse if you will. But I don't think this is talking about literal stars.
While Scripture does depict "stars" in a literal sense of bright lights in the sky, it also uses it of divine beings. For example, consider Deuteronomy 4.
And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. Deuteronomy 4:19 ESV
Here "stars" and the "host of heaven" refer to sentient created spiritual beings ("gods") which reside in the heavens.
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Matthew 24:29 ESV
Here again, the "stars and the powers of the heavens" refer to sentient created spiritual beings. These are the same as, "angels, authorities, and powers" in our text in 1 Peter 3:22. These gods were all destroyed at the second coming of Christ.
Now, you may be thinking that if the gods were judged by Yeshua in his resurrection and ascension, why does Paul tell the Ephesians thirty years after the resurrection and ascension that
we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 ESV
Paul, therefore, tells the Ephesian believers round AD 60 that they are in a spiritual battle with divine beings. But if the gods were judged by Yeshua in his resurrection and ascension, why are believers still in a spiritual battle with them 30 years later?
As Peter tells us in our text, the victory of Christ over the gods was won at Calvary. However, it was not consummated until the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. When Matthew quotes Yeshua as saying, "the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken," he is speaking of AD 70 and the destruction of Jerusalem. What began at Pentecost was completed in the holocaust of the AD 70 judgment on Jerusalem. Babel is reversed, and the nations are gathered and ruled by Yahweh.
A glimpse of this battle with the gods in heaven was seen by several in AD 70. Josephus, a Jewish general present at the destruction of Jerusalem, wrote:
Besides these [signs], a few days after that feast, on the one-and-twentieth day of the month Artemisius, [Jyar,] a certain prodigious and incredible phenomenon appeared; I suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals; for, before sun-setting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armour were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities. Moreover, at that feast which we call Pentecost, as the priests were going by night into the inner [court of the] temple, as their custom was, to perform their sacred ministrations, they said that, in the first place, they felt a quaking, and heard a great noise, and after that they heard a sound as of a great multitude, saying, "Let us remove hence." (See Wars of the Jews Archive).
Tacitus, the Roman historian, relating the same events, wrote:
In the sky appeared a vision of armies in conflict, of glittering armour. A sudden lightening flash from the clouds lit up the Temple. The doors of the holy place abruptly opened, a superhuman voice was heard to declare that the gods were leaving it, and in the same instant came the rushing tumult of their departure (Histories, v. 13).
Eusebius, the bishop at Palestine (See Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History), wrote this in the fourth century:
For before the setting of the sun chariots and armed troops were seen throughout the whole region in mid-air, wheeling through the clouds and encircling the cities.
Paul told the Roman believers,
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Yeshua the Christ be with you. Romans 16:20 ESV
Satan, the Roman heavenly spirit ruler, and the priesthood, the earthly ruler, were destroyed. The battle is over.
and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Revelation 20:10 ESV
The battle is over, and Christ reigns victorious. Those gods who rebelled against Yahweh have been judged.
Peter's readers were suffering for their faith and he was encouraging them to keep their eyes on Christ who also suffered and has been glorified. Yeshua's ultimate victory, in spite of temporary persecution, should be an encouragement to any suffering disciple of the Savior. We may suffer here but this is not our home, this is not our final destination. We are heaven bound!
| Continue the Series |